In Lisbon, Pope calls on Europe to "build bridges" for peace in Ukraine

Pope Francis on Wednesday called on Europe to "build bridges" for peace in Ukraine, at the start of a five-day visit to Lisbon dedicated to World Youth Day (WYD).

Arriving mid-morning, the 86-year-old Argentinian Jesuit was welcomed with military honours in the Portuguese capital, where a million young pilgrims are expected to attend this major international gathering of the Catholic Church, which is reflecting on its future.

"Looking with affection at Europe and the spirit of dialogue that characterises it, we could ask ourselves: where are you sailing to, if you do not propose routes of peace, creative ways to put an end to the war in Ukraine (...)?" said Jorge Bergoglio in his first speech, applauded by the authorities and the diplomatic corps in the Belém cultural centre.

"We sail the ocean of history in tumultuous times and we feel the lack of courageous itineraries of peace," lamented the pope, who has consistently called for the silencing of weapons in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

A few minutes earlier, he spoke with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative and fervent Catholic, after passing through a town that was partially blocked to allow his convoy to pass.

"We are the Pope's youth," chanted hundreds of faithful waiting for him outside the presidential palace in Belém, beating drums and waving flags in the colours of their countries.

"Close to us"

"We love him very much because he transmits to us the love that God has for us (...) He is closer to us," Byron Santiago Chojolar, a 26-year-old Guatemalan pilgrim, told AFP.

Young people from almost every country in the world flocked to the Portuguese capital for the week of festive, cultural and spiritual events, which opened on Tuesday with a mass on top of a hill overlooking the city centre and the mouth of the Tagus.

Some 16,000 members of the police and medical services were deployed for the occasion, and several roads and metro stations were closed, a challenge for this city of 550,000 inhabitants, which is already receiving a large number of tourists this summer.

With 11 speeches and some twenty appointments, the programme for this 42nd trip abroad is very tight for the Bishop of Rome, two months after a major abdominal operation.

Less than two months before the opening of a world meeting in Rome to reflect on the future of the Church, this event also serves as a barometer of the position of young Catholics on the reception of LGBT+ people, the marriage of priests and the place of women. All issues on which Francis has been outlining reforms throughout the 10 years of his pontificate.

Victims of paedocriminality

Later in the afternoon, the pope will visit the Jeronimos monastery, a famous 16th century building on the banks of the Tagus, to meet the clergy of the country, where 80% of the 10 million inhabitants identify themselves as Catholics.

As the fourth pope to visit Portugal, a country he already visited in 2017, Francis could use the occasion to address the sensitive issue of paedophilia in the Church, six months after the publication of a shocking report by a commission of independent experts.

According to the investigation, commissioned by the Portuguese bishops, at least 4,815 minors have been victims of sexual violence in a religious context since 1950, acts "systematically" concealed by the church hierarchy.

According to Portuguese church authorities, the Pope is scheduled to meet privately with victims of sexual assault, an appointment that has not yet been included in the official programme.

On Saturday, Francis will make a lightning visit to the Marian shrine of Fatima (central Portugal), before returning to Lisbon to take part in a large vigil in a suburban park, where he will preside over the final mass the following day.

Originally scheduled for August 2022, but postponed because of the pandemic, the event, created in 1986 by John Paul II, is the largest Catholic gathering in the world.

After Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, 2013), Krakow (Poland, 2016) and Panama (2019), this will be the fourth World Youth Day for Pope Francis, now in a wheelchair.