Pope Francis criticized the practice of Western powers intervening in the governments of Muslim nations like Libya and Iraq, a practice often referred to as “democracy crusades,” according to Italian journal La Stampa.
La Stampa sourced the comments to a new book published by Salani Editore, titled You Are Not Alone: Challenges, Answers, Hopes featuring conversations between Pope Francis, Francesca Ambrogetti, and Sergio Rubin.
Per the excerpt, Pope Francis has come to think that Western intervention in the affairs of Third World nations like Libya and Iraq, wherein the United States and other NATO powers toppled authoritarian regimes and attempted to usher in Democratic governments, were errors if not outright “cruelties.” He implied that such nations are culturally adapted to dictatorships, and such dictatorships should be kept in place to prevent even greater misery.
This, notably, was the same position articulated by Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign.
His full comment goes as follows:
[Interviewer:] “We did not talk about the responsibilities of the most developed countries towards the chaos in which many countries from which refugees flee live.”
[Pope Francis:] “It is true. Of the consequences of colonialism and, in particular, the appropriation of their natural resources. But also of the failure of the West in its attempt to import its own type of democracy into certain countries with a culture, I won’t say tribal, but of a similar nature. Let’s think about Libya, which seems to be able to be led only by very strong personalities like Gaddafi. A Libyan told me that they once had only one Gaddafi, but now they have fifty-three. The Gulf War was a true disgrace, not to say one of the worst cruelties. Saddam Hussein was certainly no little angel, on the contrary, but Iraq was a fairly stable country. Warning: I am not defending Gaddafi or Hussein. But what did the war leave behind? Organized anarchy and more war. Therefore I believe that we must not export our democracy to other countries, but rather help them develop a process of democratic maturation according to their characteristics. Don’t go to war to import a democracy that their people are unable to assimilate. There are countries that have a monarchical system and that will probably never accept a democracy, but we can certainly contribute to ensuring that there is greater participation. In any case, I consider myself ignorant when it comes to international politics, but I believe that the appearance of ISIS is based on an unfortunate Western choice.”
VATICAN
Pope Francis has slammed the West for murdering Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein and leaving 'organised anarchy' behind as well as saying that ISIS emerged as a result of 'an unfortunate Western choice'
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"It is true. Of the consequences of colonialism and, in… pic.twitter.com/nrn9NyUByS
— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) October 23, 2023
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In other excerpts quoted by La Stampa, Pope Francis criticizes the immigration policies of Western nations, arguing that in many cases integration is not achieved which causes the formation of ghettoes. This ghettoization encourages “alcoholism, drugs or crime to survive,” he said. He also argued it leads to “brainwashing,” seeming to reference radical Islamist terroristic ideology.
However, he did not fully reject the concept of resettling Middle Eastern, African, and Asian populations in Europe and other Western countries. He said cultural integration could be achieved if Westerners “go beyond prejudices” and the refugees “make an effort and open up to a new cultural context without losing their traditions, which are an enrichment.” He helped up his native country of Argentina as a stellar example of a successful immigration system. “When I was a boy, young people of the most diverse family origins lived together in public school without any problems,” he said.
“And yet I understand certain cautions on the part of citizens and also the prudence of the authorities of the host countries because in some cases they are plausible,” he went on. “Having said that, it seems to me to be an irrational attitude to move from a certain fear to terror and to close the borders. Why don’t we sit down and analyze how we can act towards integration? And why don’t we also establish how many we can integrate? Even in Europe there are excellent examples of integration.”
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