Pope Francis has expressed shock at conditions on the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, where more than 10,000 migrants from Africa have arrived this month alone. “The situation in Lampedusa is cruel, a terrible lack of humanity,” the head of the Catholic Church said on Friday at the start of a trip to France.
There, Francis will take part in a youth meeting in the port city of Marseille with participants from 29 countries in the Mediterranean. The Pope himself also visited Lampedusa.
On the outbound flight, the Pope also spoke to journalists about the situation in Libya, where many migrants are waiting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
“They keep them in camps in Libya and then throw them into the sea.”
According to a report by the Italian television channel RAI, he literally said: “They keep them in camps in Libya and then throw them into the sea.” Many of the boats that take people from African countries to Lampedusa for a fee come from Libya and Tunisia. Migrants often drown during the crossing.
The Pope wants to stop in Marseille in the evening at the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde at a monument to migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. According to French sources, migration will also be an important topic during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday. 60,000 worshipers are expected at a mass in the Vélodrome stadium.
Source: Krone
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