Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to honor its Christian heritage in a speech delivered to the French city of Metz.
“We cannot speak of Europe, then, without mentioning Christianity,” he declared. He went on to draw upon historians who indicated that the “common European heritage” was the “shared moral outlook.”
The Pope went on to argue that “recognizing Europe’s debt to Christianity helps us understand more clearly that openness to the transcendent is always a constitutive part of the human person and a living source of civilization.”
Pope Leo XIV issued similar comments last week, calling out France as a “land with deep Christian roots.” He later noted that a “Christian engaged in public service and is guided by the light of his or her conscience illumined by faith, cannot be considered a proselytizer or a threat to the unity of the nation.” His comments come as Christians have faced ongoing persecution and threats across Europe, as well as mass migration affecting its historically Western culture.
The threat against Europe’s Christian heritage and Western values was also recently recognized by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, as the two leaders released a joint statement in August condemning the onslaught of migrants entering Europe.
The statement, released through a Facebook post, sought to defend Europe’s “values and our way of life.” The statement also emphasized the importance of respecting European values and its Christian heritage. “We are both proud of Europe’s Christian cultural heritage and want to protect it. We expect those who come to our countries and choose to make Europe their home, to respect our values and not try to impose on us models of life that we do not share,” the leaders said. “We believe that this is the right way to protect Europe and our common values. And we believe that millions of Europeans share this belief.”
