President Schulz welcomes Pope Francis to the European Parliament

Your Holiness,

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

26 years ago, Pope John Paul II addressed the European Parliament. His speech was a milestone of the path that led to the fall of the Iron Curtain and European reunification.

Today you will be addressing a European Parliament, with Members representing more than 500 million citizens, coming from 28 Member States. We represent the plurality and diversity of Europe.

For the last six years Europe has been living through a dramatic and unprecedented crisis.

This crisis has had severe consequences. Particularly dramatic is the people’s loss of trust for their institutions. Be it at the national or European level: the loss of trust is enormous. Without trust no idea and no institution can persist in the long run. We therefore need to all cooperate to regain this lost trust.

In this respect, the concerns of the European Union and the Catholic Church go hand in hand to a large extent.

The values of tolerance, respect, equality, solidarity and peace are shared duties of ours. The European Union is about inclusion and cooperation rather than exclusion and confrontation.

Young people have difficulty in finding their place and work in society; migrants seek a better future for themselves and their children; people flee from wars and disasters to seek asylum here.

Whether we look at the issue of social justice or the unjust distribution of wealth and life chances; whether we look at the situation of our elderly, at the wars and conflicts in our neighbourhood and beyond. We face common challenges.

Your words carry enormous weight not only because you are the spiritual leader of more than a billion believers. Your words carry enormous weight because they speak to everyone and are valid to all of us. Because the issues you raise concern everyone and are for everyone's consideration. They are universal. Your words provide council and direction in times of confusion.

Your message of peace and dialogue, sincerity and responsibility for each other, of solidarity and togetherness make it very clear that together we need to find common solutions to our challenges. Because united we are stronger than alone. This is a truly European message. The idea of European integration is based exactly on this.

Your history is a European history. The story of a family that left Europe and found a new home in South America. The story of a Pope who returned from "the other end of the world" to reform his church and guide its believers. It is a story that should serve as a model and can help Europe to renew and reform itself.

I thank you for your presence today and for accepting the invitation of the European Parliament. It is an honour and privilege to be able to listen to you.

The floor is yours