Pontiff calls for ‘global governance of migration based on justice, brotherhood and solidarity’
Boats used by migrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea are abandoned on the beaches of Lampedusa, a small island south of Sicily. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFPPope Francis has strongly decried the treatment of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to enter Europe, saying it was a “grave sin” not to offer aid to migrant vessels.
“There are those who work systematically and with every means to reject migrants,” the pontiff said during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday. ”And this, when done with conscience and responsibility, is a grave sin.” The pope has spoken frequently about the treatment of migrants over his 11-year papacy. But his words on Wednesday, invoking Catholic terminology for one of the worst kinds of sin, were especially strong. Migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea in simple crafts or home-made dinghies from northern Africa and the Middle East have been the subject of intense debate across Europe over the past decade.Harris promises one-off payments will run for third year in giveaway budget AfD appeal grows in some German cities as Björn Höcke calls for ‘180-degree shift’ in view of Nazi past In Italy, a rescue ship operated by the Doctors Without Borders charity was issued a 60-day detention order on Monday. Authorities said the vessel, which had conducted several rescue operations on August 23rd, failed to properly communicate its movements. Doctors Without Borders rejected those claims. “We have been sanctioned for simply fulfilling our legal duty to save lives,” it said in a statement. Francis called for expanding access routes for migrants and a “global governance of migration based on justice, brotherhood and solidarity.”In recent weeks, the pope had been offering a series of reflections about Catholic spiritual matters in his weekly audiences. At the beginning of his latest remarks, the pope said he was postponing that series this week, to consider “people who are crossing seas and deserts to find a place where they can live in peace and security”. Wednesday’s audience was the last before Francis, aged 87, embarks next week for a four-country 11-day visit across Southeast Asia. It will be the longest trip yet by the pontiff, who now regularly uses a wheelchair due to knee and back pain. - ReutersMOST READCAO 2024: Universities set to use random selection for some high points coursesIreland’s refugee hotels: ‘We have more Ukrainians than Irish people in Ballyvaughan now’Ireland winger Chiedozie Ogbene returns to Premier League with Ipswich Town
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