Pope Leo’s France visit carried a political message, correspondent says
Vatican correspondent Colleen Dulle said the Pope’s message linked Europe’s Christian inheritance and history of conflict with a responsibility to pursue peace.
Pope Leo’s visit to France was more political than Vatican correspondent Colleen Dulle expected, she told France 24. She described the trip as an effort to set out a vision of Europe shaped by its past and its obligations.
Dulle said Leo’s message brought together Europe’s Christian inheritance, its history of conflict and its encounters with other cultures. She said he presented the pursuit of peace as a responsibility arising from that history.
The choice of Metz was significant, in Dulle’s account. She said the city evoked a transformation in relations between historic enemies through reconciliation and cooperation.
The visit’s political character, as Dulle described it, lay in connecting that history to Europe’s present role. The interview did not identify the specific historic enemies or episodes of reconciliation behind the Metz reference.
