Pope Francis today asked that the Mediterranean "be a laboratory of peace" in the face of the current "anachronistic and belligerent nationalisms that want to put an end to the dream of the community of nations", in the speech he gave at the closing of the Meetings of the Mediterranean in Marseille, where he arrived this Friday.
The pontiff traveled to Marseille to participate in the third edition of these meetings, in which some 60 bishops from the area participated along with young people from several countries in the Mediterranean basin.
At the Palais du Pharo, where the meeting was held, Francis stated that "we often hear it said today that Mediterranean history is a network of conflicts between civilizations, religions and different visions." "We do not ignore the problems, but let us not be fooled: the exchanges that have taken place between peoples have turned the Mediterranean into a cradle of civilization, a sea overflowing with treasures," he noted.
Before the president of France, Emmanuel Macron; the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin; the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, and the vice president of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas, the Pope has assured that the Mediterranean is a “mirror of the world” and "carries within itself a global vocation to fraternity, the only path to prevent and overcome conflicts".
For this reason, he stressed that "in the current sea of conflicts, we are here to recognize the value of the Mediterranean's contribution, and to make it once again a laboratory of peace."
"Because this is its vocation, to be a place where different countries and realities meet on the basis of the common humanity that we all share, and not of opposing ideologies," he added.
In this sense, he stated the following: "How much need we have for it in the current situation in which anachronistic and belligerent nationalisms want to put an end to the dream of the community of nations!"
"But let us remember, with weapons we wage war, not peace, and with the ambition for power we return to the past, we do not build the future," said the pontiff.
The Pope, very concerned about caring for the environment, has also expressed his concern about "the climate challenge", since in the Mediterranean "these changes are being felt more quickly."
"How important it is to take care of the Mediterranean maquis, a unique treasure of biodiversity!" he added.
