The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is to meet Pope Francis tomorrow after days of crisis talks that could determine whether Greece remains with the EU.
At her second private audience with Francis it is likely that their conversation will consider threats to the EU, including the implications for Europe should Greece decide to leave the eurozone, and the euro, under its new Syriza-led Government which wants to relax austerity measures.
Mrs Merkel said she looked forward to discussing with Pope Francis the fight against poverty, climate protection, Europe’s refugee problem and inter-religious tensions. She said those topics were close to the Pope’s heart and were focal points on this year’s G7 agenda.
Francis in his address to the European Parliament in November warned against rules “perceived as insensitive to individual peoples, if not downright harmful” as well as unsustainable opulence that was indifferent to the poor.
In her weekly video podcast Mrs Merkel said she fully agreed with the Pope’s criticism of European refugee policy, especially the Mediterranean situation, as it was “most unsatisfactory”. While it was important to distribute the refugees who crossed the Mediterranean fairly, it was also essential to staunch the flow of refugees because “we cannot help all those whose standard of living is lower than in Europe,” she underlined.
She said she fully agreed with Pope Francis that faith must not be allowed to become a mere cultural matter, and described how important her Christian faith was to her.
She said it was most important for people in Europe to have a working knowledge of the monotheistic religions, “above all of Christianity and Judaism, which have had such a formative influence on our culture in Europe” but it must be quite clear that religions could only live together peacefully if they adhered to the rule of law.
Germany took over the G7 presidency in June 2014 and will host the annual meeting of heads of state and government from 7-8 June.
Above: Chancellor Merkel and Pope Francis at their first private meeting in May 2013. Photo: CNS photo/Gregorio Borgia, pool via Reuters
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