Pope Francis, concerned about the rise of "sovereignty" in the world: "We hear speeches that resemble those of Hitler"

In the midst of the political crisis unleashed in Italy by the ultra-right Matteo Salvini, who seeks to become prime minister, Pope Francis raised his voice and in an interview to the newspaper La Stampa criticized "sovereignty"to be an" attitude of isolation "that leads" to wars. "

"Sovereignty is a attitude of isolation. I'm worried because we listen speeches that look like Hitler in 1934. "First of all we. We … we … are scary thoughts, "said the pontiff.

"Sovereignty is close," he said.

"A country must be sovereign, but not closed, sovereignty must be defended, but relations with other countries and with the European Community must also be protected and promoted." Sovereignty is an exaggeration that always ends badly: it leads to wars "he added.

In the case of early elections in Italy in October, as Salvini demanded after blowing up the government coalition and demanding swift elections, the right-wing leader is becoming the biggest winner, according to Salvini polls.

When asked about populism, the Argentine pope explained that he "closes the nations" to sovereignty.

"At first, I could not understand because, studying theology, I deepened the vulgarism, that is to say the culture of the people: but one thing is that the people express themselves and another is to impose a populist attitude on the people: the people are sovereign (they have to think, express themselves and feel, evaluate), instead populisms lead us to sovereignty: this suffix, "isms ", never does well," he explained.

Asked about the migrant crisis, theme with which Salvini increased his popularity, the pope stressed that "the most important right of all must never be neglected: the right to life " and that "to receive is also a Christian task".

In the interview conducted by Domenico Agbado, the pontiff also spoke about Europe, the Amazon and the environment.

"Europe must not be defeated, we must save it, has human and Christian roots. A woman like Ursula von der Leyen can revive the strength of the founding fathers, "he said of the new president of the European Commission elected on 2 July.

Francisco listed several environmental disasters, talked about the loss of the planet's resources and the importance of taking care of the Amazon rainforest.

"It's a representative and decisive place, and together with the oceans, it makes a decisive contribution to the survival of the planet, so much of the oxygen we breathe comes from there. deforestation means killing humanity. And then, the Amazon includes nine states, which does not affect a single country. And I think of the richness of Amazonian biodiversity, plant and animal: it is wonderful, "he said.