Pope Francis called for an end to the smuggling of migrants on Sunday, a week after a ship sank off southern Italy, killing at least 70 people.
“That the traffickers of human beings be arrested, that they no longer have the power to dispose of the lives of so many innocent people,” exhorted the Argentine Jesuit, at the end of the Angelus prayer.
“May these voyages of hope never again become voyages of death and may the clear waters of the Mediterranean not be bloodied by such dramatic incidents,” added the 86-year-old Pope.
Visibly moved, Jorge Bergoglio remained silent for a few seconds before the crowd in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome.
The death toll from the tragedy off the coast of Crotone in Calabria on Sunday was at least 70, including 15 minors, and rescue teams are still looking for other victims.
Three people suspected of being smugglers were arrested. According to Italian media reports, they are suspected of charging between 5,000 and 8,000 euros for each migrant they brought to Turkey three days earlier.
Source: TSF
