Pope Francis Compares Helena Dalli’s ‘Happy Christmas’ Guidelines To Nazi Dictatorship
Pope Francis has drawn parallels between Nazi Germany and European Commissioner Helena Dalli’s controversial guidelines for “inclusive” language, which suggested that EU staff should avoid using “Happy Christmas” when in the company of non-Christians.
Speaking to journalists aboard a papal flight, the Pope described the document, which has since been withdrawn, as “anachronistic”, drawing comparisons with Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
“You refer to the European Union document on Christmas… this is an anachronism,” he said.
“In history many, many dictatorships have tried to do so. Think of Napoleon: from there… Think of the Nazi dictatorship, the communist one… it is a fashion of a watered-down secularism, distilled water… But this is something that throughout hasn’t worked.”
The Pope urged the EU to follow the ideals of unity and greatness of its founding fathers without going down the path of “ideological colonisation”.
“This could end up dividing the countries and [causing] the European Union to fail,” he said.
“The European Union must respect each country as it is structured within, the variety of countries, and not want to make them uniform. I don’t think it will do that, it wasn’t its intention, but be careful, because sometimes they come, and they throw projects like this one out there and they don’t know what to do.
“I don’t know what comes to mind… No, each country has its own peculiarity, but each country is open to the others. The European Union: its sovereignty, the sovereignty of brothers in a unity that respects the individuality of each country. And be careful not to be vehicles of ideological colonisation. That is why [the issue] of Christmas is an anachronism.”
Besides advising European Commission workers to steer clear of “Happy Christmas” on occasions, Dalli’s document also advises them not to address audiences as “ladies and gentlemen” and not to solely use Christian names when speaking about people who live in the EU.
The guidelines proved hugely controversial and sparked criticism that the EU was “cancelling” Christmas.
Dalli ended up pulling the document, with Politico reporting that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was “outraged” at the Maltese politician.
What do you make of the Pope’s comments?
READ NEXT: Driving Tests Postponed Indefinitely By Transport Malta As COVID-19 ‘Precautionary Measure’
