The Pope Leo XIV claimed this Saturday before representatives of the European People’s Party (EPP) a return to “analogue” politics and direct contact with citizens as the “best antidote” to stop the rise of populisms and combat social detachment towards institutions.
“We could metaphorically say that, in the era of ‘digital triumph,’ political action truly oriented toward the common good requires a return to the ‘analog,'” Leo XIV said during an audience at the Vatican with EPP members. And he described this method as the “true antidote” against a policy that “often shouts, consists only of slogans and is incapable of responding to real needs.”
Leo XIV defended that involving the pueblo in the political process is “the best antidote against populism, which seeks easy approval,” and also against elitismwhich “tends to act without consensus”, two trends that he considered widespread today. “The people are not only a passive recipient of political proposals and decisions; they are, above all, called to be a active participant that shares the responsibility of each political action,” he stressed.
In his opinion, one of the main problems in recent years has been the “constant decline in harmony, cooperation and mutual commitment” between representatives and constituents. For this reason, he called for rebuilding a “genuine sense of people” that allows us to respond to the concrete problems of citizens and strengthen the bond between society and its leaders.
Ideals versus ideologies
In his speech, Leo XIV pointed out the need to distinguish between “pursuing a ideal” and “glorify a ideology“, warning that the latter are the result of a “distortion of reality” and “violence imposed on it.” “All ideology turn back las ideas y subdue people to their own agenda, stifling their true aspirations, their desire for freedom, happiness and personal and social well-being,” he stated.
He also recalled that contemporary Europe emerged precisely after the “failure of the ideological projects” that destroyed the continent in the last century.
Likewise, he specified that being cristiano in politics “does not mean being confessional“, but to allow the Gospel to guide the decisions to be made, “even those that may not attract an easy consensus.” “Being a Christian engaged in politics requires a realistic perspective that starts from the concrete concerns of people,” the American-Peruvian pontiff told the popular Europeans.
Decent working conditions
Among the urgent challenges, Leo XIV highlighted the need to guarantee decent working conditions in the face of an “increasingly dehumanizing” market and called for addressing the “deep causes” of migrationand care for those who suffer, considering “the real capabilities of reception e integration of society”.
Likewise, he urged to promote approaches that allow citizens to “overcome the fear of starting a family and having children”, a reluctance that, in his opinion, seems “particularly present in Europe.”
He also called for facing challenges such as the artificial intelligencewhich he warned that, although it offers great opportunities, it is also “full of dangers.”
“Being a politically engaged Christian also means investing in freedom; not a trivialized freedom, but a freedom rooted in TRUE“, concluded the Pontiff before the nearly 190 EPP politicians led by its president, Manfred Weberand the EU special envoy for religious freedom, Mairead McGuinness.
