Pope Francis celebrated a Mass on Friday morning to remember the victims of mass migration.
The Mass for migrants marks the fifth anniversary of his trip to Lampedusa, the small island in Sicily, Italy, which became a symbol of mass migration from North Africa.
In 2013, Pope Francis criticised “the globalisation of indifference”, which made Western governments unwilling to accept migrants in their countries. Today the Pope said: “Unfortunately the responses to my previous appeal have been insufficient, and now we are mourning other thousands of deaths.”
Francis said that the only “reasonable response” to the challenges presented by contemporary migration is “solidarity and mercy". He said governments must be less concerned with political calculations and more with an equitable distribution of responsibilities.
Many of the poor, Francis said, are trampled on today.
“How many of the poor are being brought to ruin! All are the victims of that culture of waste that has been denounced time and time again,” including migrants and refugees who “continue to knock at the door of nations that enjoy greater prosperity.”
Pope Francis’s words came at a private Mass he led in Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica. Some 200 people, including migrants and those who work with them, were in attendance.
I his homily, Francis renewed his tribute to the victims of migration, and to those who managed to survive.
Francis thanked the NGOs that rescue migrants across the Mediterranean. He said: “They (the NGOs) save the life of the poor man who is beaten up by the bandit without asking him who he is, or where he comes from.”
Pope Francis also spoke against “the sterile hypocrisy of those who are indifferent to this problem.” He added: “This temptation is present in these days, and leads to a denial towards those people who have the right to a decent life style.” The Pope reiterated his message that “we should build bridges, not walls.”
Pope Francis also expressed his “solidarity and encouragement” towards the migrants who were rescued across the Mediterranean. Many of them were present in the Vatican during the Pope’s mass. The Pope said: “I ask you (the migrants) to be the witnesses of hope in a world which is always more worried for its present, and with an unclear vision for its future.” Nonetheless, migrants should “respect the cultures and laws of their new country” to embark on a “process of integration.”
The Pope ended his Mass with an appeal to “go beyond all fears and anxieties.”
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