Posted on Sep 23, 2023
Pope Francis says migration is a reality in call for action during France visit
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Pope Francis has called on European nations to show greater tolerance towards migrants during a visit to the southern French city of Marseille.
Speaking at a meeting of bishops and young people from Mediterranean countries, the pontiff said "those who risk their lives at sea do not invade".
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the audience for the address.
It comes as the migration debate has been reignited by mass arrivals on the Italian island of Lampedusa last week.
France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who greeted the Pope upon his arrival in Marseille on Friday, said the country would not welcome any migrants coming from the island.
Some 8,500 people arrived on Lampedusa on 199 boats between Monday and Wednesday last week, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.
Pope Francis said on Saturday that migration was not an emergency, but rather "a reality of our times, a process that involves three continents around the Mediterranean and that must be governed with wise foresight, including a European response".
"There is a cry of pain that resonates most of all, and it is turning the Mediterranean, the 'mare nostrum', from the cradle of civilization into the 'mare mortuum', the graveyard of dignity: it is the stifled cry of migrant brothers and sisters," he said, using Latin terms meaning "our sea" and "sea of death".
He also called for "an ample number of legal and regular entrances" of migrants, particularly those fleeing war, hunger and poverty, rather than on "preservation of one's own well-being".
Speaking at a meeting of bishops and young people from Mediterranean countries, the pontiff said "those who risk their lives at sea do not invade".
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the audience for the address.
It comes as the migration debate has been reignited by mass arrivals on the Italian island of Lampedusa last week.
France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who greeted the Pope upon his arrival in Marseille on Friday, said the country would not welcome any migrants coming from the island.
Some 8,500 people arrived on Lampedusa on 199 boats between Monday and Wednesday last week, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.
Pope Francis said on Saturday that migration was not an emergency, but rather "a reality of our times, a process that involves three continents around the Mediterranean and that must be governed with wise foresight, including a European response".
"There is a cry of pain that resonates most of all, and it is turning the Mediterranean, the 'mare nostrum', from the cradle of civilization into the 'mare mortuum', the graveyard of dignity: it is the stifled cry of migrant brothers and sisters," he said, using Latin terms meaning "our sea" and "sea of death".
He also called for "an ample number of legal and regular entrances" of migrants, particularly those fleeing war, hunger and poverty, rather than on "preservation of one's own well-being".
Pope Francis says migration is a reality in call for action during France visit
Posted from bbc.com
Religion
Christianity
Refugees
Immigration
Europe
Posted 1 y ago
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Many of the "have" countries" are being flooded with people from the "have not" countries. Is revolution in the air? By who?
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There are lots of anonymous helpers in every path. I believe God has the final say. My family came from overseas centuries ago. We military families move country to country. What would we do if they kick us out? Just musing.. PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Maj Kim Patterson My Scottish Ancestors had to Leave the Old Country, Something about being "Highwaymen" and We Had to Stick with the New Country after becoming Traitors to the Crown "The British are Coming" (No Paul Revere didn't Ride Alone that Night). My English Ancestors had to Leave the Old Country, Once Again Traitors to the Crown and Catholic Terrorist, The Gunpowder Plot. They Founded MARYland (Queen of Saints) LOL!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Maj Kim Patterson My German Ancestors left the Religious Wars of What Became Germany to the New Zion for German Speakers, Missouri and Southern Illinois. We Killed Each other in the Old Country over "Christianity" and Came together in the New Country over Our Shared Language, German.
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Maj Kim Patterson
My paternal lineage has records back to the 1600s. My mother’s mother came over from Ireland and her father came from France. My paternal grandmother was a Puritan and grandfather a Mason. My deceased aunt meticulously researched the family history. My mother was raised by the Catholic Church and my father let her decide how we children were raised.
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Easy for the Pope to say. He doesn't have to worry about housing them, feeding,them, providing medical care for them.....etc, etc, etc
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