“一个和解、团结且强大的欧洲。”谁能不赞同利奥十四世在9月28日于梅斯所表达的这一愿景呢？在向这位正在接受梵蒂冈封圣仪式的欧洲共同体的“杰出”奠基人罗伯特·舒曼致敬时，教皇坚决主张开放与团结，反对极右翼民族主义所宣扬的基于身份认同的观念。他说：“基督教教导人们，所有人生而平等——无论种族、肤色、阶级或职业如何。”
"A Europe reconciled, united and strong." Who could fail to share the aspiration expressed by Leo XIV in Metz on Monday, September 28? In paying tribute to one of the "venerable" founding fathers of the European community, Robert Schuman, who is in the process of being canonized by the Vatican, the pope firmly defended openness over withdrawal, countering the identity-based visions promoted by far-right nationalism. "Christianity taught the equality of all people by nature (...) without distinction of race, color, class or profession," he said.
在弗朗西斯教皇与欧洲保持距离的十年之后，他的继任者明确表达了立场。利奥十四世重申了自己对基督教欧洲传统的认同，并对那些因全球危机而感到不安的民众在寻求身份认同过程中的困境表示了理解。然而，关于是否应在欧盟的创始文件中明确记载欧盟的“基督教根基”的争论其实早在2004年就已经结束——当时法国在雅克·希拉克的领导下曾反对这一提议。
After a decade of Pope Francis maintaining a distant relationship with Europe, his successor issued a clarification. Leo XIV reaffirmed his attachment to the continental origins of Christianity, showing sensitivity to the search for identity among populations unsettled by global crises. But the battle to enshrine the "Christian roots" of the European Union in its founding documents has been over since 2004 – when France, under Jacques Chirac, opposed such a move.
这位来自美国的教皇是一位法律专家，也是一位善于平衡各方利益的人；他与冷战时期的波兰教皇约翰·保罗二世截然不同——约翰·保罗二世曾哀叹人们“忘记了欧洲的根源”。因此，基督徒不应以自己的信仰为借口去排斥他人。利奥十四世表示：“当代欧洲正步入其漫长历史中的新阶段：许多逃离战争与迫害的人，或是为了摆脱贫困与苦难而来到这里的人们，正在这片大陆上安家。对于这些外来者来说，人的尊严要求为他们提供合法、安全的生存途径、救助与帮助。欢迎他们，就意味着将他们视为自己家庭的一部分。”
The American pope, a law expert and a man of balance, is not the Polish pontiff of the Cold War era, John Paul II, who at the time lamented a "loss of memory." Christians, therefore, should not assert themselves against others. "Contemporary Europe is now entering a new stage in its long history of encounters, with the arrival on the continent of so many men and women fleeing war and persecution or seeking a better life far from poverty and hardship," Leo said. For these foreigners, "human dignity demands legal and safe pathways, rescue and assistance," he said.
他的言辞中蕴含着深刻的智慧：这不仅是对欧洲人的呼吁，也是对每个人责任的提醒——因为每个人的权利，都源于他们应尽的义务。
"To welcome a person means to integrate them as if they were part of one's own family." There is no naïveté here; the message carries a warning regarding the duties of each individual, which are the corollaries of the rights of all.
关键原则：教皇无法抹去欧洲基督教的种种错误——这些错误曾为奴隶制和殖民主义行为提供正当理由。利奥十四世也无法平息那些被排除在欧洲繁荣进程之外的人们的愤怒。然而，在面对那些仅依靠武力来统治世界的“野蛮人”时，我们别无选择，只能基于这些价值观来构建未来的欧洲。这正是教皇呼吁欧洲政治领袖们所做的：与舒曼一同推动1945年后建立在自由、平等、民主、法治及多边主义基础上的共同事业。
A pope cannot erase the missteps of European Christianity, which once went so far as to justify the crimes of slavery and colonization. Nor will Leo XIV soothe the anger of those left out of Europe's prosperity. Yet in the face of the new "barbarians" – those leaders who believe only in ruling the world by force – there is no other choice but to build the future on values. This is what the pope is calling on European political leaders to do, by promoting, alongside Schuman, the foundations of the collective endeavour built after 1945 on freedom, equality, democracy, the rule of law and multilateralism.
这些价值观在当今欧洲依然具有重要意义，而在唐纳德·特朗普领导的美国或弗拉基米尔·普京统治的俄罗斯则已不再适用。在专制主义的诱惑以及固化的身份认同观念面前，这些价值观甚至是实现生存与和平的必要条件；教皇坚决反对欧洲各国重新武装的趋势。
And it is indeed in Europe that these words still hold meaning, not in Donald Trump's United States or Vladimir Putin's Russia. In the face of authoritarian temptation or fixed identities, these values are even a condition for survival and peace – the pope opposes the ongoing rearmament of the continent's states.
利奥十四世深知2027年欧洲将迎来许多重要选举。在法国，极右翼势力构成威胁；他对法国公民表示：“正是你们这些来自不同背景的人们共同构成了这个国家，你们的多样性为法国及其民主制度带来了活力与丰富。”他在梅斯提出的政治主张——“以新的、富有创造性的方式重新发现我们的根源，同时认真倾听他人的声音”——值得我们认真思考。面对基于身份认同的孤立主义倾向，舒曼的遗产在于将勇气与现实主义相结合。
Leo XIV knows that the year 2027 will be marked by many important elections across Europe. In France, where the far right poses a threat, he also addressed citizens who "together, they make up a people whose diverse origins have enlivened and enriched the nation and its democracy." The political proposal delivered in Metz "to rediscover our roots in new and creative ways, while at the same time listening carefully to others" is worth heeding. In the face of identity-based isolationism, Schuman's legacy lies in the combination of courage and realism.