VATICAN (RIA Novosti): Sergey Startsev. Pope Francis reiterated his deep concern and pain over the current situation with migrants who are trying to come to Europe from Asia and Africa .
“Think about it: How many migrants and these days threatens great danger, how many of them die at our borders feel pain in connection with the situation in which there are many of them are ones that died in the strait.. The English Channel , the ones that are on the border of Belarus , many of their children. Those who are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea “, – said the pontiff during his traditional Sunday address to believers from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican .
“It is a great pain when you think of them. Those who were repatriated to northern Africa, who were captured by traders. They are turned into slaves, women are sold, men are tortured. And those who tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea this week in search of a land of prosperity,” but they found a grave,” he stressed.
Pope Francis pledged to pray for all migrants in crisis and thanked charities, including those under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church , for working to alleviate the suffering of refugees. He also called on everyone who can contribute to the resolution of the acute migration problem, especially the civil and military authorities, to understanding and dialogue.
“Let’s think about the migrants, about their suffering and pray in silence,” the Pope concluded.
Pope Francis has repeatedly called on the international community and all people of goodwill to provide comprehensive assistance to migrants and refugees. Earlier, he called the situation around mass migration to Europe a “shame” . In 2014, during a visit to the European Parliament, the pontiff said that it should not be tolerated that the Mediterranean Sea is turning into a “great cemetery.”
On Saturday, in a video message to the peoples of Cyprus and Greece , which the pontiff will visit next week, he again recalled that the Mediterranean Sea has become a “great cemetery” due to numerous migrants who died trying to reach the shores of Europe. At the same time, those who flee “from war and poverty” often encounter not hospitality, but “hostility and even exploitation,” the pontiff pointed out.
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