By DPA
Vienna : Pope Benedict XVI Friday slammed abortion as the “opposite” of a human right, stressing on the first day of a three-day visit to Austria, that life was a presupposition of every other right.
“Abortion, consequently, cannot be a human right – it is the very opposite,” the pontiff told Austrian leaders and foreign diplomats in Vienna, calling on them to hold on to abortion bans.
A climate of joy and confidence in life had to be created, the pope urged, “a climate in which children are not seen as a burden, but rather as a gift for all”.
“I say this out of a concern for humanity,” the pope added.
At the same time the pontiff warned against euthanasia, expressing fears that at some point the gravely ill or elderly would face pressure to request death.
Focusing on Europe, Benedict XVI said the European “model of life” – referring to sound economy, combined with social justice, political pluralism, tolerance, generosity and openness – faced a great challenge under modern economic forces.
At the same time, “Europe cannot and must not deny her Christian roots,” he warned.
Globalisation could not be halted, but politics had the urgent task to regulate and limit globalisation so that it would not occur at the expense of the poor.
A minute of silence in commemoration of the victims of the Nazi regime at Vienna’s Holocaust memorial on Judenplatz, marked a first high point of the visit.
With this gesture, the German-born pontiff wanted to express his feelings of “sadness, repentance and friendship” with the Jewish people, he told journalists during the flight to Vienna.
Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn stressed the church’s roots in Judaism. “It is a the tragedy of this city, that here in particular this root was forgotten, even denied, up to the ungodly volition to destroy the people who are the subjects God’s first love,” Schoenborn said.
Pouring rain and technical problems marred the begin of the pope’s visit. His first speech at Vienna’s Am Hof square, where several thousand onlookers endured strong rain and cold temperatures, was cut short by a microphone failure.
An earlier welcoming ceremony was moved from the airfield into a hangar due to the extremely adverse weather conditions.
His planned trip on Saturday to the pilgrim site of Mariazell to celebrate the sanctuary’s 850th anniversary, a keystone of the visit, was also threatened by the rainfalls.
Several roads leading to the sanctuary, located in a remote valley were on blocked due to floods and mudslides, press officers said. If there was no improvement, the papal helicopter could also have problems ferrying the pope from Vienna to Mariazell.