Pope Francis is traveling to the French port city of Marseille to join Catholic bishops in a meeting focusing on the Mediterranean and migration.
Some 120 boats launched from Africa and crowded with migrants landed on a tiny Italian island, overwhelming coast guard, border police and aid workers.“Marseille is indeed like a city that embodies this diversity of France,” said Camille Le Coz, associate director of Migration Policy Institute’s Europe office, in Paris. “This great tradition of migration, but also a city that is concentrating so many difficulties in terms of access to public services, insecurity, drug trafficking.
One of the highlights of Francis’ trip will be an interfaith prayer Friday at a Marseille monument dedicated to sailors who died at sea, in this case honoring the 28,000 migrants estimated by the International Organization of Migration who have drowned in the Mediterranean since 2014 trying to reach Europe.
The encounter will bring together leaders of Marseille’s various faith groups — Muslims, Jews, Armenian and Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics — and will feature testimony of migrants, rescue groups and the pope. The speakers’ list suggests a united voice to call for a culture of tolerance toward migrants, and lament that the Mediterranean has become, in Francis’ words, “the world’s biggest cemetery.
The question is whether anyone in power will listen. President Emmanuel Macron, whose government has shifted rightward on migration and security issues, will join Francis on Saturday and is slated to attend his big Mass at the Velodrome. The centrist president has taken a firm stance on migration after coming under criticism from conservatives and the far right.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pope Francis to Bill Clinton: Halt ‘Ecological Catastrophe’ of Climate ChangePope Francis engaged Bill Clinton via zoom to stress the urgency of addressing the climate change “catastrophe,” and the migration “crisis.”
Read more »
World on brink of nuclear war like 1962 Cuban missile crisis — Pope'A world free of nuclear arms is possible and necessary,' Pope Francis says.
Read more »
Breitbart News Daily Podcast Ep. 393: Breitbart’s Tom Williams on Pope Francis’ Woke Climate Change ObsessionBreitbart's Rome Bureau Chief Tom Williams discusses Pope Francis’ woke climate change obsession.
Read more »
France to seek minimum price for flights in EuropeFrance will seek support from other European Union countries for a minimum price on flights in Europe in a bid to reduce the aviation sector's contribution to climate change, Transport Minister Clement Beaune has said.
Read more »
The Godfather Part 2: Why Francis Ford Coppola Produced It (But Not The First Movie)Here's why Coppola produced The Godfather Part 2.
Read more »
Filmmaker John Waters receives star on Hollywood Walk of FameNicknamed “The Pope of Trash,” Waters’ movies include “Pink Flamingos,” “Female Trouble,” “Desperate Living,” “Polyester,” “H…
Read more »