VATICAN CITY Pope Francis warned on Monday that the recent influx of migrants risked overwhelming European values and traditions, but said he was confident the continent could successfully integrate the newcomers.
In an annual address to diplomats at the Vatican City, the pope said the flood of new arrivals, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, was a major burden for Europe and had given rise to “significant” fears over security and international terrorism.
“The present wave of migration seems to be undermining the foundations of that ‘humanistic spirit’ which Europe has always loved and defended,” he said.
Despite the “inevitable difficulties” in trying to absorb the migrants, who brought with them different cultures and traditions, the pope said he hoped European nations would prove capable of integrating and accepting the refugees.
“Europe, aided by its great cultural and religious heritage, has the means to defend the centrality of the human person and to find the right balance between its two-fold moral responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens and to ensure assistance and acceptance to migrants,” he said.
More than 1 million people flowed into Europe last year in seek of refuge, many trying to escape violence in Syria, Iraq and sub-Saharan Africa.
The question of integration has dominated news headlines in recent days following a wave of assaults on women who had been celebrating New Year’s Eve in the German city of Cologne. The police investigation has focused on asylum seekers and migrants.
The pope last year led calls for European countries to welcome the migrants and give them new homes. Looking to set an example, he called on all Roman Catholic parishes to take in at least one refugee family, but his appeal drew a mixed response.
(Writing by Crispian Balmer– Editing by Steve Scherer and Hugh Lawson)
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