“We are all migrants”, he said as he threw a wreath into the sea.
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Pope Francis walked into the red-hot center of the European migrant crisis yesterday, visiting a Greek island where smugglers have ferried thousands of refugees and serving up his latest political rebuke by bringing three Syrian families back with
him to Rome. Actions do speak louder than words.
Pope Francis has called a Christian Syrian woman “a martyr” after hearing she was killed by Islamic militants for refusing to deny her faith in Jesus Christ.
The pope also said all the refugees brought to Rome are Muslims because the papers of two Christian families that had originally been on the list were not in order. Our bishops could be more supportive of the leadership of the Holy Father in this vast humanitarian crisis.
“It’s one way to show the entire world that we should accept refugees”, Petros Vasiliadis, a Greek biblical scholar and retired theology professor said of the pontiff’s gesture.
“It’s a drop of water in the sea”.
“We are grateful to the pope, we will prove ourselves worthy of this opportunity and the gift he gave us”, he told La Stampa, while adding he did not know whether he would remain in Europe for the long-term or “one day, return to a Syria that is free of war and violence”.
Migrants, most from Pakistan, at the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos protest this month against the E.U.-Turkey migration deal. They touched on the topics of climate change and foreign policy during the 6 A.M. chat at the pontiff’s residence, held shortly before the pope departed for the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with refugees.
Migrant arrivals in Greece have fallen significantly this year, following the closure of borders and the announcement of the EU-Turkey deal.
Refugees wept and fell when the Pope came close to them while others chanted “Freedom!”
“The world will be judged by the way it has treated you”, Bartholomew told the refugees.
Pope Francis has been described as a saviour by the Syrian refugee families rescued from the Greek island of Lesbos and taken to the Vatican.
Two of the families come from Damascus, the Syrian, while the third is from the stronghold of the fanatical group Daes, also known as ISIS, of Deir el-Zour in the north of the country, near the Iraq border.
Asked about the meeting later, Francis said the encounter was not planned and that he shook Sanders’ hand to be polite. It said the homes of all three had been bombed in Syria.
‘No, if I was really being political, I’d be in New York City right now and not in Rome, ‘ Sanders said.
“I want to tell you, you are not alone”, he told them. “And we will all be accountable for the way we respond”.
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Sant’Egidio, a Christian community which offers help for those in need and is headquartered in Rome, will help the families to settle and to find jobs but the costs will be covered by the Vatican, Francis said. The refugees were detained.
