Pope Francis has warned that the world sees Europe as “somewhat elderly and haggard” during a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, teh BBC reports.
The Pope said the continent felt “less and less a protagonist”, in a world that regarded it with mistrust.
He also called for a “united response” to the arrival of boatloads of poor and desperate migrants in Europe.
Pope Francis’s whistle-stop visit to Strasbourg has disgruntled some, who have accused him of neglecting Europe.
As well as the European Parliament, he is also addressing the Council of Europe, Europe’s main human rights body.
However, many of Strasbourg’s Catholics are upset that the Pope will not meet them or visit the city’s cathedral.
His four-hour trip – the shortest visit abroad made by any Pope – is his second European trip since his election, after going to Albania in September.
