ANP
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 14:07
Pope Francis has called for a broad pan-European approach to the migration problem in France. The Pope did this in Marseille at a meeting of bishops from the Mediterranean region.
According to the Pope, the crisis is turning the Mediterranean Sea from a ‘mare nostrum’ (our sea) and cradle of civilization into a ‘mare mortuum’ (sea of death), a cemetery of dignity.
‘Balanced recording’
While more and more governments in EU countries are taking a tough stance against migration, the Pope calls for a balanced intake of migrants. According to Francis, the migration issue should not be seen as an invasion nor as an emergency, but as a fact of our time.
According to the Pope, saying ‘enough’ is equivalent to closing one’s eyes. “Future generations will be grateful to us if we have succeeded in creating the conditions for an integration that is inevitable,” Francis said.
Mis
The Pope was accompanied to the conference from the port of Marseille this morning by President Macron. Later today, the Pope will celebrate a mass in the city for around 60,000 people. Macron has said that he wants to be there and that is a sensitive issue in France because of the strict separation of church and state. This so-called laïcité was recently cited as a reason for the ban on Islamic robes for students.
2023-09-23 12:07:53
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