The Portuguese Catholic University (UCP) in Lisbon has awarded an honorary doctorate to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“She Showed Her Openness to Refugees”
In its justification for the award, the university’s leadership stated that the distinction recognizes Merkel’s “values-based leadership, freedom, and courage.”
A scholar, political leader, German and European, who served her country as Chancellor for 16 years, living a life dedicated to public service and the common good. For this reason, the time has come to honor Angela Merkel, to acknowledge the significance of her actions, and to recognize the future she helped shape,
said Isabel Capeloa Gil, Rector of the Portuguese Catholic University, during the ceremony.
She emphasized that Merkel played a key role in initiating the mass influx of migrants from outside the European Union, when in 2015 she “showed her openness to refugees. She proved then that without a human soul, there is no Germany and no Europe. In the face of a massive influx of vulnerable people, her response was resolute,” Capeloa Gil said.