Pope Francis and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had a 20-minute private conversation this morning, June 10, 2022. At the end of the meeting, the European leader posted on her Twitter account a photo with Pope Francis, and a call for the end of the war.
The Holy See’s account of the event also mentioned her meeting with Secretariat of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States. It noted how they discussed the humanitarian elements and the food crisis now threatening the planet.
During the cordial discussions held in the Secretariat of State, the parties focused on the good bilateral relations and common commitment to work to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, dedicating particular attention to the humanitarian aspects and the food consequences of the continuation of the conflict.
Attention then turned to the conclusions of the Conference on the future of Europe and on the consequences for the future structure of the Union.
This is the second time the Pope has received Ursula von der Leyen.
The day before the meeting, the President of the European Commission spoke to the members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences about the environmental challenge.
In particular, she praised the New European Bauhaus, an environmental, economic and cultural project that aims to combine design, sustainability, accessibility, affordability and investment to help achieve the European Green Pact. “We need a new model, one that gives back to nature instead of taking from it. This is the European Green Deal. We want to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050,” she stressed to the conference participants.
And today we celebrate...