Pope says EU needs fresh start
Pope Francis - Photo © European Union 2014 - source EP
(VATICAN CITY) - Pope Francis on Thursday urged the European Union to take inspiration from its founding fathers to make a fresh start.
"Where are the Adenauers or the Schumans today. After two wars they founded the European Union," Francis said on his flight home from Mexico in a reference to post-war German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French Prime Minister Robert Schuman.
In a reference to the debate over the EU's future which is at the heart of a summit of the bloc's leaders in Brussels, the pope said the 28-nation bloc needed to be "more like a mother than a grandmother."
"I like this idea of refoundation: if only it could be," he said.
"Because Europe has so much strength, so much culture, a history that cannot be wasted and we must do everything to ensure it has the strength and the inspiration to go forwards.
"I don't know -- it is what I think."