In the presence of political leaders, kings, ambassadors and international representatives, Pope Francis received the 2016 International Charlemagne Prize at the Vatican.
– Giovanni Tridente
"A new European humanism". With this dream, expressed "with mind and heart, with hope and without vain nostalgia, like a son who finds in mother Europe his roots of life and faith."Pope Francis concluded his impassioned speech on the occasion of the presentation of the Charlemagne Prize, which he received on May 6 in the Sala Regia of the Vatican City.
In the presence of political leaders, kings, ambassadors, and international representatives, the Pope has evoked the memory of of the founding fathers of Europe, recalling how they themselves knew how to "to seek alternative and innovative ways in a context marked by the wounds of war"..
To make this dream of a new humanism effective, it is necessary to rediscover, according to the Pope, three capacities. The first is to know how to "integrate"because "rather than bringing greatness, wealth and beauty, exclusion causes baseness, poverty and ugliness."not in vain "the European identity is, and always has been, a dynamic and multicultural identity"..
It is also necessary to know how to re-find the "capacity for dialogue".recognizing "the other as a valid interlocutor". and looking "the foreigner, the migrant, the one who belongs to another culture as a subject worthy of being listened to, considered and appreciated.". Finally, it is necessary to return to "generate"perhaps by resorting to "new economic models that are more inclusive and equitable, oriented not for a few, but for the benefit of the people and society".
Other awardees:
2016Francisco
2009: Andrea Riccardi
2008Angela Merkel
2004John Paul II
1999Tony Blair
1988Helmut Kohl
