KRAKOW, Poland — As he began his first official visit to Poland, Pope Francis on Wednesday said “the world is at war,” and he challenged the conservative governments of Central and Eastern Europe to soften their resistance to migrants seeking refuge.
The pope’s visit to the southern Polish city of Krakow to celebrate World Youth Day, a major event on the Roman Catholic calendar, began just a day after the horrific killing of a priest in France.
The priest, the Rev. Jacques Hamel, 85, was celebrating Mass in a small town in Normandy when two men with knives entered the church and slit his throat. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
Francis, 79, was clearly shaken by the attack, and he appeared solemn and pensive as he headed to Poland, the first stop on a trip to Central and Eastern Europe.
“The world is at war,” he told reporters on his plane from Rome to Krakow. “We don’t need to be afraid to say this.”
But with anti-Muslim sentiment growing after the recent Islamic State-inspired terrorist attacks in France and Germany, Pope Francis emphasized that he did not see a religious conflict. “I am not speaking of a war of religions,” he said. “Religions don’t want war. The others want war.”
He said he was referring to “a war of interests” and a war for money, resources and the “domination of peoples.”
Three days before the pope’s arrival in Poland, the Vatican issued a statement reprimanding Polish officials who “artificially created fear of Muslims.”
Poland, like other states in Central and Eastern Europe, has refused to accept its quota of refugees as requested by the European Union. After the recent attack in Nice, Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak assured Poles that borders would remain sealed to ensure their safety.