John Paul II received in audience former president of Poland and 1993 Noble Peace Prize recipient Lech Walesa on Thursday.
Walesa was in Rome to give a lecture on the crisis of moral values in Europe at the Pontifical Lateran University.
The former leader of the Solidarity labor union gave the opening lecture of the 2004-2005 academic year.
“The constitution of the new Europe speaks above all of freedom, little about solidarity and no mention of God,” and “progress cannot be separated from moral questions and the value of conscience,” he said.
Walesa said he believed in the plan of European integration, “but it would be a pity if the new generations had a mistaken interpretation of the challenges we are experiencing.”
