John Paul II: We need a union of the spiritual and the economic

From a speech given by the Pope to the Italian parliament, in Rome's Palazzo Montecitorio

Truly deep is the bond that exists between the Holy See and Italy! We all know that this association has passed through widely different phases and circumstances, subject to the vicissitudes and contradictions of history. But at the same time, we should recognise that, in the sometimes turbulent sequence of events, that bond has had positive results, both for the Church of Rome, and therefore the Catholic Church, and for the beloved Italian nation.

I cannot fail to mention, on such a solemn occasion, another grave threat that bears upon the future of this country, one that is already conditioning its life and its capacity for development. I refer to the crisis of the birth rate, the demographic decline and the ageing of the population. Raw statistical evidence obliges us to take account of the human, social and economic problems that this crisis will inevitably impose on Italy. Above all, it encourages – indeed, I would dare to say, forces – citizens to make a broad and responsible commitment to favour a clear-cut reversal of this tendency.

A self-confident and internally cohesive Italy can greatly enrich the other nations of Europe and the world. I wish to share this conviction with you at this time, when the institutional shape of the European Union is being defined and its expansion to include many countries of central and eastern Europe appears imminent, as it were sealing the end of an unnatural division. It is my hope that, thanks also to Italy's support, the new foundations of the European "common house" will not lack the "cement" of that extraordinary religious, cultural and civil patrimony that has given Europe its greatness down the centuries.

There is a need to guard against a vision of the Continent that would take into account only its economic and political aspects, or that would uncritically yield to lifestyles inspired by a consumerism indifferent to spiritual values.

In this noble assembly, I would like to renew the appeal that in recent years I have made to the various peoples of the Continent: "Europe, at the beginning of the new millennium, open once again your doors to Christ!"