Pope Francis yesterday called for “European responsibility” to tackle the migration crisis and prevent the Mediterranean from going from “the cradle of civilization to the cemetery of dignity”. The leader of the Catholic Church, who closed the Mediterranean Meetings in Marseilles, had already denounced the “fanaticism of indifference” towards those who risked their lives to reach Europe the day before, and repeated the same message during the Mass that brought together 50,000 people. at the Vélodrome stadium – including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.
‘There is a cry of pain that resonates more than any other and transforms the world sea-nostrum [“o nosso mar”, como os romanos chamavam ao Mediterrâneo] on a mare mortuum [mar morto], from the cradle of civilization to the cemetery of dignity. It is the muffled cry of immigrant brothers and sisters”the pope said at the end of the meeting, which brought together Catholic bishops and local leaders from cities and countries around the Mediterranean.
“Migrants must be welcomed, protected or accompanied, promoted and integrated,” Francisco defended in Marseille, which he called the “capital of the integration of peoples,” recalling that if this is not done, they will “fall into the orbit of of society”. And he added: “Those who take refuge in us should not be regarded as burdens: if we regard them as brothers, they will appear to us above all as gifts.”
The Pope recalled that there are two words – “invasion and emergency” – that seem to be associated with migrants, “feeding people’s fear” and leading to the desire to close the doors. “But those who risk their lives at sea do not invade, they seek hospitality, they seek life”, he repeated. As for the emergency, the migration phenomenon is not so much a temporary emergency, always good for causing alarmist propaganda, but a fact of our time, a process that concerns three continents around the Mediterranean and that must be managed with caution, with European responsibility capable of meeting objective difficulties.”
Francis’ visit, the first by a pope to the city in almost 500 years, comes at a time when the migration issue is back on the agenda following the arrival in a few days of 8,500 migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa. “Against the terrible scourge of human exploitation, the solution is not to reject, but to guarantee, according to the capabilities of each person, a large number of legal and regular entries, sustainable through a fair reception by the European continent, in within the framework of cooperation with the countries of origin”he defended.
The pope’s trip lasted just 27 hours but still allowed for a meeting with Macron – the first president since Valéry Giscard d’Estaing in 1980 to attend a papal mass. Faced with criticism that he was questioning the secularity of the country and the state, he had said a few days ago that he would attend Mass not as a Catholic – he was baptized at the age of 12 and educated by the Jesuits – but as president . “I believe that it is my place to attend Mass,” he explained.
Source: DN
