Greetings from Pope Francis
Unexpectedly and on short notice, the Head of the Catholic Church cancelled a planned livestreaming.
We are sorry to inform you that Pope Francis has decided at short notice to cancel the video livestream to Alpbach planned for Saturday, 24 August. We very much regret this decision, as a lot of preparation has gone into the broadcast of the video appearance, both on the part of the European Forum Alpbach and in great cooperation with the Alpbach parish. However, the Holy Father sent a personal letter to the participants of the EFA24, which is available for download here:
Translation:
"Dear participants of the European Forum Alpbach,
I greet you warmly and am pleased to address you with a few words today. When I think of Europe, I first think about the continent of human rights. Important universal human rights have been mainly developed here.
We are currently living in a time of crisis in Europe, which, like any crisis, brings dangers and opportunities; a time in which various populist movements enjoy great popularity. The reasons for this are primarily economic and political factors. Thus, we see in Europe, that as a result of this populist “wave” some ideals have faded and some principles regarding how we treat the weakest of our society have fallen behind.
These ideals and principles, among which human dignity and fraternity are to be emphasised, have always been linked to those of the Gospel. Today, the cultural context has changed, and the Church is called to live in a secularised society. This should neither surprise nor frighten us, because we are certain that God is also present there. On the contrary, we as Christians strive with renewed vigour to bring in the richness of the Catholic social teaching with its claim to universality. Since its foundation, the European Union has also had universalist characteristics, and it is desirable for it not to lose them. In this sense, the aspect of fraternity is of particular importance. It is therefore important that European societies strive to find ways and means of both reducing polarisation in their own midst and remaining open to the outside world.
Dear participants of the European Forum Alpbach, I thank you for your commitment amid the societal challenges of our time and wish you to be ‘contagious’ witnesses of the European ideals. I bless you with all my heart and ask you to pray for me. Thank you.
Rome, 21 August 2024"