Pope’s Strasbourg visit ‘inspires hope’, says head of parliament

The President of the European Parliament has welcomed the Pope’s planned visit on 25 November, which will be the first by a pontiff since John Paul II addressed MEPs in 1988, writes Jonathan Luxmoore.

“We’ll be welcoming someone who, at this historical moment, is a point of reference not only for Catholics but for many other people as well,” said Martin Schulz, who held talks in Rome on 31 October with the Pope and Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “At a time when many are disoriented and the world is moving at a dizzying speed, often in very risky directions, the Pope is the only person giving people hope through his noble rectitude,” he said.

The politician, a Catholic and a member of Germany’s opposition Social Democratic Party, was speaking amid preparations for the Pope’s one-day visit to Strasbourg.