The world, even in Europe, is seeing a return of "rifts and enmities that, instead of being resolved on the basis of mutual goodwill, negotiation and diplomatic efforts, are resulting in open hostilities, leading to destruction and death," the pope said in Luxembourg during a meeting with authorities, members of the diplomatic corps and local representatives. It was the first day of a four-day trip Sept. 26-29 to the small nation and nearby Belgium.
"It seems that the human heart does not always remember the past and periodically goes astray and returns to the tragic path of war," he said in his speech at the meeting held at the city's main administrative building, the Cercle Cité.
"To heal this dangerous syndrome, which causes nations to become seriously ill and risks throwing them into exploits that bring with them immense human costs and further useless massacres, we need to raise our gaze upward," he said, calling on citizens and leaders to be "motivated by noble and profound spiritual values."
"This will prevent reason from succumbing to foolishness and our lapsing into making the same mistakes of the past, mistakes made even worse by the greater technological power that human beings now possess," he said, also warning against "pernicious ideologies" as "ideologies are always the enemy of democracies."
The pope's visit comes less than two weeks after he made a marathon trip to Asia. He canceled all his appointments Sept. 23 after coming down with mild, flu-like symptoms to rest ahead of his trip to northern Europe. On the flight from Rome, the pope said he did not feel up to walking down the narrow aisle to greet each journalist traveling with him, as is his custom.
Looking a bit tired and seated in his wheelchair, the pope still insisted on greeting a long line of young people standing behind him during the official welcome ceremony at the airport. Later, when he was driving slowly to his next event, he made the driver wait as he waved to and greeted a small crowd that had gathered in the rain, giving a rosary and candy to a young boy.
The pope began his 46th apostolic journey abroad with an appeal to Luxembourg, a small nation in the heart of Europe, to play an important role on the world stage by promoting peace. He was addressing some 300 representatives, including Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden and its Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.
Luxembourg, a predominantly Catholic country, is smaller than Rhode Island and has a population equivalent to the U.S. city of Boston. It was invaded twice by Germany -- during the two World Wars -- and became committed to building a united and more fraternal Europe, the pope remarked.
"Indeed, it is not the size of the territory nor the number of inhabitants that serve as indispensable conditions for a state to play an important part on the international stage," he said.
"Luxembourg can show everyone the advantages of peace as opposed to the horrors of war, of the integration and promotion of migrants as opposed to their segregation, the benefits of cooperation between nations as opposed to the harmful consequences of hardening positions and the selfish and shortsighted or even violent pursuit of one's own interests," he said. He praised the country for its openness to migrants and commitment to inclusion.Those who hold positions of authority, he said, urgently need to engage "resolutely and patiently in honest negotiations in order to resolve differences, together with a willingness to find honorable compromises, which undermine nothing and can instead build security and peace for all."
The meeting with authorities and members of civil society came after the pope held a private meeting with the prime minister and before that, with the grand duke and duchess. Before the cameras exited the room, the grand duke could be heard telling the pope how important his visit was for revitalizing the faith in an increasingly secular society.
The pope was set to meet with Catholics in the city's Cathedral of Notre-Dame in the afternoon before flying on to Brussels, where he was to spend the next three days meeting with authorities, local Catholics and staff and students of KU Leuven, the world's oldest Catholic university, which was celebrating its 400th anniversary.