Pope pleas for European unity, at threat from ideologies

Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for Europe to stick together and revive the ideals of its founders on Sunday, saying ideologies and fear-mongering politicians were threatening its very existence as a bloc.

His comments to journalists on the plane while returning from a three-day trip to Romania, one of the more recent European Union members, were his first since European elections last month. Francis, who was asked about the elections, Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini and other European topics, urged believers to pray for European unity and non-believers to hope for it "from the bottom of your hearts".

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Susan Fenton)