ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN CHURCHES (CEC)

[…] Today the Churches and ecclesial communities in Europe find themselves facing new and decisive challenges, which can only be answered effectively by speaking with one voice. I am thinking, for example, of the challenge posed by legislators who, in the name of some badly interpreted principle of tolerance, end up preventing citizens from freely expressing and practicing their own religious convictions in a peaceful and legitimate way. Moreover, in the face of the attitude with which Europe seems to address the dramatic and often tragic migration of thousands of people fleeing war, persecution and misery, the Churches and ecclesial communities have the duty to collaborate in order to foster solidarity and acceptance. The Christians of Europe are called to intercede through prayer and to work actively in order to bring dialogue and peace to these current conflicts.[…]