On Wednesday, Pope Francis stated that the Mediterranean Sea must not become a “hotspot of war.”
“It is not acceptable that it becomes a mausoleum, nor should it be a source of strife,” he stated in his weekly speech to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City.
“The Mediterranean is the polar opposite of civilisational clashes, bloodshed, and people trafficking. The Mediterranean serves as a conduit for contact between Africa, Asia, and Europe; between north and south, east and west, peoples and languages, ideologies and faiths.”
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Western society in crisis
Francis’ address came following his visit to the French port city of Marseille last weekend for a meeting to discuss the Mediterranean, where he decried what he called a “fanaticism of indifference” towards migrants.
He said, on Wednesday, the tens of thousands of migrants crossing the sea to reach Europe must be welcomed and integrated because they can help Western societies.
“Our societies, sickened by consumerism and by empty escapism need to open themselves, their souls and spirits need to be oxygenised,” he said, adding, “Then they will be able to read the [migrant] crisis as an opportunity and deal with it positively. “
Anti-migrant sentiment in Europe
Migrant crossings in the Mediterranean have almost doubled since 2022, according to figures released in September by EU coast and border guard agency Frontex.
Between January and August 2023, the number of migrants arriving in Italy via the Mediterranean from North Africa came to almost 114,300.
The rise in crossings comes amidst an increase in anti-migrant sentiment in several European countries.
During his address on Wednesday, Pope Francis gave a short message to visiting Polish pilgrims urging them to continue to help Ukrainian refugees.
Poland will hold national elections on October 15, with political parties on the right increasingly taking anti-migrant positions and showing less support for Ukraine.
