Responding to a journalist during a press conference while on flight back to Rome from the Apostolic Visit to Greece, Pope Francis called the European Union's document on Christmas an "anachronism" that dictators have tried doing.
Vatican News explained that the journalist, Constandinos Tsidas of CYBC, asked several questions pertaining to the Pope's Apostolic Journey to Cyprus and Greece over the weekend that included the European Union's document on Christmas.
"Finally, a question of the EU document concerning, among other things, the terminology about Christmas," Tsindas said after a barrage of questions.
To which Pope Francis responded, "You refer to the European Union document on Christmas...this is an anachronism. In history many, many dictatorships have tried to do so. Think of Napoleon: from there...Think of the Nazi dictatorship, the communist one...it is a fashion of a watered-down secularism, distilled water...But this is something that throughout hasn't worked."
Pope Francis shared that Tsindas' question on the European Union reminded him of the necessity of going back to the ideals of their founding fathers that center on fostering unity and greatness whereas the document on Christmas divides it. He warned on the European Union's need to "be careful not to take the path of ideological colonization" through respect and a sense of individuality that should be cared for.
"This could end up dividing the countries and [causing] the European Union to fail. The European Union must respect each country as it is structured within, the variety of countries, and not want to make them uniform," Pope Francis said.
"The European Union: its sovereignty, the sovereignty of brothers in a unity that respects the individuality of each country. And be careful not to be vehicles of ideological colonization. That is why (the issue) of Christmas is an anachronism," he stressed.
CBN News disclosed that the European Union document being referred to is entitled, "Union of Equality," that was leaked by the Italian newspaper Giornale last week. The Union of Equality is 30 pages long and advises members to "avoid assuming that everyone is Christian" particularly during the holidays of Winter.
The Union of Equality particularly instructed members to use "holiday" instead of "Christmas." Also prescribed in the document is the avoidance in the use of names "that are typically from one religion" such as "Maria and John" and substituting it with "Malika and Julio" in reference to an imaginary couple. The document also contained guidelines in addressing people according to their chosen gender and sexual orientation, as opposed to addressing others based on their biological sex.
Following the leakage on the Union of Equality, the European Union received a lot of criticim not only from Roman Catholic Church officials including the Pope but also from conservative politicians. This prompted the European Union last Thursday, Dec, 2, to withdraw the document and announce via Twitter that they will come out with an "updated version" of it.
One of the officials that condemned the European Union document is Vatican Secretariat of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin who echoed the Pope's sentiments on the "tendency to homogenize everything" out of forgetting the "rightful differences" of religious beliefs and countries.
Parolin called the document a reflection of the European Union's "forgetfulness of what is a reality" and "a cancellation of our roots" especially during "Christian festivities."
