Pope Francis on Monday
said the European Union must welcome refugees despite rising
fears about terrorism and security.
The deaths of children in the Mediterranean were indelibly
impressed in minds and hearts, he said.
Speaking to the Vatican diplomatic corps, Francis said that
"the inevitable fear" spurred by the "serious migratory
emergency" must be overcome in order to address "such a massive
phenomenon which in 2015 has hit Europe above all, but also
various regions in Asia and North and Central America".
Francis urged people to "discern the causes and map out
solutions" to the emergency.
Europe must continue to take in migrants despite the
"massive landings" and fears of terrorism" that "seem to shake"
Europe's reception system, the pope said.
Europe must overcome "fears for security" and "not lose the
foundations of its humanistic spirit," he said.
Francis paid "special thanks" to Italy for "saving so many
lives in the Mediterranean".
Francis renewed an appeal to "stop people trafficking,
which turns human beings into a commodity, especially the
weakest and most defenceless."
He told the diplomatic corps that "the images of children
dead at sea are indelibly impressed in our minds and hearts".
Francis has repeatedly urged action to stop migrant
disasters in the Mediterranean.
The pope said the Holy See hopes the first World
Humanitarian Summit at the United Nations in May can "succeed,
amid the sad daily picture of conflicts and disasters, in
decisively overcoming the throwaway culture".
Francis told the ambassadors to the Vatican that "we all
look with hope to the important steps taken by the international
community to reach a political and diplomatic solution to the
crisis in Syria, to put an end to the suffering, which has
lasted too long, of the population".
He also said only "common action" can defeat terrorism and
extremism.
In other remarks, the pontiff said the recent inauguration
of the Jubilee in the Central African Republic (CAR) capital of
Bangui "gave a sign of encouragement" to CAR and reiterated that
"those who believe in God must be men of peace".
Only a "deviated and ideological form of religion," he said,
can justify "massacres" in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Francis also sent a message to the national anti-usury
board invoking the Holy Spirit to help "fight with all [our]
force to defeat the widespread social plagues of usury and
gambling".
The board, which is a consultative body, aims to coordinate
efforts to fight usury and loan-sharking in all their forms.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
