2023-09-22 21:28:10
During his visit to the southern French port city of Marseille, Pope Francis used moving words to call for the rescue of refugees in the Mediterranean. “People who are at risk of drowning because they are exposed to the sea must be rescued. This is a duty of humanity, a duty of civilization,” the Pope said today at a memorial service for refugees who try to reach Europe across the Mediterranean and often die during the dangerous crossing.
More than 2,000 deaths this year alone
This year, more than 2,000 people have died while fleeing across the Mediterranean. “Let us not get used to seeing the boat accidents as news and the dead at sea as numbers: they have names and first names, faces and stories,” emphasized the Pope at a memorial next to the church of Notre-Dame de la Garde, from where from which the participants had a wide view of the sea. Representatives of several religious communities took part in the memorial service.
“We can no longer watch the tragedies of maritime accidents caused by human trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference,” the pope added. Once once more he called the Mediterranean a “giant cemetery” where people had even lost their right to a burial site.
Meeting with young people
His long-planned visit, which concludes a meeting of bishops and young people from countries bordering the Mediterranean, coincides with the recent crisis on the Italian island of Lampedusa and the debate over a new immigration law in France.
France “will not accept any refugees,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin recently said, referring to the thousands of migrants from Africa who have arrived in Lampedusa. He assumed that most of them had no right to asylum anyway, he explained, and offered Italy to help with the repatriation.
1695420078
#Pope #Saving #migrants #duty #humanity
