© Tony Gentile / Reuters / Reuters
Europe is suffering from "dramatic sterility," Pope Francis has said, urging Christians to preserve their moral values and to "revitalize" a continent that is increasingly being distinguished by a plurality of cultures and religions.
"In our day, Christians are called to revitalize Europe and to revive its conscience, not by occupying spaces, but by generating processes capable of awakening new energies in society," Pope Francis
said addressing European political and church leaders at the Vatican.
After two World Wars ripped through the continent, Europe deserves peace, the Pope said, expressing disappointment that "particular and national agendas risk thwarting the courageous dreams of the founders of Europe."
To preserve European values, the Argentinian-born leader of the Catholic Church urged his followers to rediscover their traditional identity, starting with the family, which, he said, "remains the most fundamental place for this process of discovery."
The Pope noted that Christians must pass on the values of past generations to their offsprings as Europe is suffering a period of "dramatic sterility" which began in the 1960s.
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