The Pope has denounced an attempt by the European Union to excise the word “Christmas” from official documentation as a throwback to the dictatorships of Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin.

The 32-page manual for language used by EU institutions, called “Union of Equality”, recommended the use of “holiday period” instead of “Christmas period” to avoid offending non-Christians who live in the bloc.

It was withdrawn for revision by Helena Dalli, the EU Commissioner for Equality, after several member states objected to its contents.

Pope Francis, speaking to reporters on the plane back from Greece, described the document as an “anachronism”.

“This is what many dictatorships have tried to do in history,” said the Holy Father. “Think of Napoleon, think of the Nazi and communist dictatorship, it is a way of diluted secularism, distilled water.

“This is one thing that didn’t work out throughout history,” he said. “The European Union must take in hand the ideals of the founding fathers, which were ideals of unity, of greatness. Be attentive not to make way for ideological colonisation.

“This could divide countries and [make] the European Union fall. The European Union must respect each country as it is structured inside, the variety of countries, and not want to standardise.”

He added: “Be careful not to be a vehicle for ideological colonisation. This is why that thing about Christmas is an anachronism.”

Earlier, during the five-day trip to Cyprus and Greece, Pope Francis used a speech in Athens to lament the bloc’s “retreat from democracy”.

He explained to reporters on the plane that the vision of the founders of the EU was threatened by “populism” from both the right and the left of the political spectrum.

He also criticised a tendency to excessive federalism, arguing that countries will lose freedom if they attempted to impose equality upon all citizens.

“This happens when there is a superpower that dictates economic, cultural and social behaviour to the other countries,” Francis said.

Previously, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, strongly denounced any attempt to cancel “our roots, the Christian dimension of our Europe, especially with regard to Christian festivals”.

“We know that Europe owes its existence and its identity to many influences, but we certainly cannot forget that one of the main influences, if not the main one, was Christianity itself,” the cardinal said.

(Picture courtesy of Vatican Media via Catholic News Agency)

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