VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis returns to the frontline of Europe’s migrant crisis on Saturday when he visits Lesbos, the Greek island struggling to cope with the mass influx of asylum seekers arriving by boat from Turkey.
Francis, who has made the plight of people fleeing poverty and conflict one of the central themes of his papacy, is flying to the island on the invitation of Orthodox patriarch Bartholomew I.
His brief stay will include a meeting with asylum seekers, many of whom have arrived on Europe’s southeastern shore as a result of the devastating war in Syria.
The trip to Lesbos follows an equally symbolic journey by the Argentinian pontiff to the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013.
There, in the aftermath of several deadly sinkings of people smugglers’ boats packed with migrants, he made one of the most famous speeches of his term in office, railing against the “globalisation of indifference” which has allowed thousands to perish at sea in their pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families.
It is a theme he has returned to repeatedly, notably by urging every Catholic parish in Europe to find accommodation for at least one migrant family. The Vatican is currently hosting two families seeking asylum in Italy.
The decision to visit Lesbos came shortly after the European Union began implementing a controversial programme to return most of the newcomers arriving on the Greek islands to Turkey.
Over a million people crossed clandestinely from Turkey to Greece in 2015 and some 150,000 have made that trip since the start of this year. Around half them land on Lesbos first, the majority women and children.
The main camp for migrants on the island is now categorised as a closed centre, meaning that people staying there are effectively detained.
Despite the difficult conditions there is excitement among the migrants about the prospect of a papal visit, according to staff of Catholic charity Caritas, which works with them.
“They’re making bouquets of flowers and they want to meet him,” said Tonia Patrikiadou, who is in charge of a Caritas-run hotel that caters for the most vulnerable refugees on the island, notably pregnant women.
“The pope’s visit is a symbol of hope and solidarity for the refugees. It’s a sign that the world has not forgotten them and help is a possibility,” she said.
Caritas has been working closely with Apostoli, the charitable arm of the Greek Orthodox Church and Francis will be accompanied in Lesbos by Bartholomew, the archbishop of Athens who also enjoys the title of Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
During his weekly audience at St Peter’s on Wednesday, Francis urged Catholics worldwide to pray for the success of his awareness-raising trip.
His intention, he said, was “to show closeness and solidarity with the refugees as well as the citizens of Lesbos and to all the Greek people who have been so generous in their welcome.”
Source: AFP, April 13
