Pope Francis of Athens expressed his respect for the Prespa Agreement
Respect for the "difficult road that led to the Prespa Agreement, signed between Greece and Northern Macedonia", Pope Francis said in his address during the ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Athens, in the presence of representatives of the Greek state leadership, said the correspondent of MIA from Athens.
The Pope mentioned them current challenges, climate, pandemic, common market, migrant issue, poverty, drew a parallel with Homer's Odyssey, noting that they are "challenges that require us to work together concretely and actively."
- It is necessary for the international community to open the way to peace through multilateralism, which will not end up being stifled by excessive nationalist pretensions. Politics needs this to put common needs before private interests. It may seem like a utopia, a hopeless journey into a stormy sea, a long and unattainable odyssey. However, traveling in the rough seas, as the great Homeric epic teaches, is often the only way. And she reaches the goal if she is driven by the desire for home, by the quest to move forward together, by "nostos algos", by nostalgia. In that regard, I would like to renew my respect for the difficult road that led to the "Prespa Agreement", signed between this Republic and that of Northern Macedonia, said the Pope in his address.
Referring to the migrant issue, saying that migrants are the protagonists of a "terrible modern odyssey", he said that even "the European stalemate persists", and that the European Community, torn by nationalist selfishness, instead of being a driving force of solidarity, sometimes seemed blocked and uncoordinated ”.
"If once ideological conflicts prevented the construction of bridges between the east and the west of the continent, today the migration issue has opened a gap between the south and the north," the pope said. to receive, protect and integrate migrants, "with full respect for their human rights and dignity".
He said that "without Athens and without Greece, Europe and the world would not be what they are, they would be less wise and less happy", and with the words "God bless Greece", in Greek, the Pope ended his speech.
Greek President Katerina Sakelaropoulou addressed the audience at the Prime Minister's Palace in Athens, in the presence of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, government ministers, church officials and journalists, who addressed the pandemic, climate change the migrant issue.
- In difficult times, with great trials for humanity, such as the refugee and migration crisis, poverty, climate change and pandemics, the contribution of religion and the church is not only of existential importance and is not limited to its believers. "It is directly related to the policy of care and humanity and paves the way for peaceful coexistence and prosperity for all of us," Sakelaropoulou said.
Pope Francis arrived in Greece this morning for a three-day visit and met with both Sakaleropoulos and Mitsotakis.
This afternoon he will meet with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Jeronimos, and tomorrow morning he will leave for Lesbos, where he will stay for a few hours and visit the refugees accommodated in the reception center in Mytilene.
Still there is no information whether, as during his trip to the island in 2016, he will take asylum seekers to the Vatican.
Due to the visit of Pope Francis, Athens has been under siege since this morning draconian security measures, with 3.500 police officers deployed and a ban on holding all kinds of protests and rallies.