During a visit to the French port of Marseille, Francis led a moment of silent prayer at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants who died at sea, surrounded by local clergy and representatives of refugee rescue organizations.
During the flight to Marseille, where he will stay this weekend, the Pope had already complained about the “cruelty and lack of humanity” with which Europe is dealing with the fate of the migrants arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Today, Francis criticized the “fanaticism and indifference” with which migrants are treated and lamented the deaths of those trying to escape poverty, conflict and misery.
“This beautiful sea has become a huge cemetery, where many brothers are denied their right to a grave,” the head of the Catholic Church said.
Francisco thanked rescue organizations for the efforts they have made to save the lives of migrants and criticized those who try to avoid these missions, with arguments that he said were “gestures of hatred disguised as balancing acts.”
The Pope said it is a “duty of humanity” to help those crossing the sea to Europe and called for a new attitude towards the scourge.
“We cannot accept that people are treated like commodities, imprisoned and tortured in a horrible way,” the Pope said, adding that “when we reject them” they are tortured again, recalling in his message, albeit without mentioning them by name: the refugee camps in Libya.
“People who are at risk of drowning when left in the waves need to be helped. It is a duty of humanity, it is a duty of civilization,” Francis said, after the Italian government of Giorgia Meloni announced stricter measures in the reception of migrants.
In Marseilles, Francis asked people not to get used to “looking at shipwrecks as news and the dead as numbers,” saying these victims are “names and surnames, faces and stories, shattered lives and shattered dreams.”
“I think of the countless brothers and sisters drowning in fear, along with the hope they carried in their hearts. In the face of such a tragedy, words are meaningless. Actions are needed. But first humanity is needed: silence, tears, compassion and prayer,” the Pope added.
The Pope arrived in Marseille to take part in the third edition of the Mediterranean Encounters, an initiative in which 60 bishops and young people from different countries debate various topics related to the region.
Source: DN
