Speaking at a congress on popular piety in the Mediterranean, the pope defended “a concept of secularism which is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic”. A secularism “able to adapt to different or unforeseen situations, and to promote constant cooperation between civil and ecclesiastical authorities for the good of the whole community, each remaining within the limits of its competence and space”he said at the Palais des Congrès in Ajaccio, in the presence of religious people and theologians.
The pope recognized that faith and practice are in decline in Europe, with Corsica having 80% Catholics for 350,000 inhabitants, according to the Vatican. “Today, especially in European countries, the question of God seems to be fading”he admitted, warning however against analyzes “hasty” of this decline and the “ideological judgments which sometimes oppose, even today, Christian culture and secular culture”.
A concept enshrined in the French Constitution, secularism sparks passionate debates in France, between proponents of secularism “liberal” where everyone can assert their freedom of conscience as long as this does not threaten the freedom of others, and supporters of secularism “universalist” aimed at emancipating the individual from religious narratives.
Although he also rejoiced at the vigor of popular piety in the Mediterranean, the Pope was alarmed by the « risque » whether she is “contaminated” by “fatalistic or superstitious beliefs” or “instrumentalized by groups who intend to strengthen their identity in a polemical manner, by fueling particularisms, oppositions, exclusionary attitudes”. In Corsica, a new far-right nationalist movement, Mossa Palatina, prides itself on “reaffirm the primacy of Catholicism” and ensures that “Corsica will never be Lampedusa”this Italian island where many migrants who have crossed the Mediterranean disembark. A speech that is the opposite of that of the Pope, who defends the reception of migrants.
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