Pope Francis Tells Europe to ‘Welcome’ Migrants as Illegal Border Crossings Hit Record High
As Europe witnesses a huge upsurge in the arrival of illegal immigrants, Pope Francis on Saturday urged Europeans to ‘welcome’ those swarming their continent.
Speaking at a gathering in the French city of Marseille, the head of the Catholic Church rebuked those who saw vast numbers of migrants illegally entering Europe from Muslim-majority North Africa and the Middle East as invaders.
“Pope Francis on Saturday hammered home his message that European governments must do more to care for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, saying ‘those who risk their lives at sea do not invade, they look for welcome’,” France state TV France24 reported.
Pope’s comments came days after the French government’s decision not to take in anymore migrants, who are currently swarming the Italian island of Lampedusa in record numbers. In recent days, tens of thousands of migrants landed on boats on the Mediterranean island.
“Worshipers cheered when [Marseille archbishop Jean-Marc] Aveline thanked the pontiff for his ‘powerful and courageous words’, in an apparent rebuke to French President Emmanuel Macron, present in the stadium, whose government plans to toughen up controls on migrants,” the French broadcaster added. President Macron was in the audience when those remarks were made.
Germany’s state-owned DW TV reported:
Pope Francis on Saturday rejected the notion of a migrant “emergency” in Europe during a speech in Marseille, France.”Those who risk their lives at sea do not invade,” Francis said during a church conference in the southern Mediterranean port city. “They look for welcome.”He added that migration is “a reality of our times, a process that involves three continents around the Mediterranean and that must be governed with wise foresight, including a European response.”French President Emmanuel Macron, along with Interior Minister Gerald Darminin, were both at the event. Macron and Francis held private talks later on Saturday, as France weighs tougher action on arrivals.”May we let outselves (sic) be moved by the stories of so many of our unfortuanate (sic) brothers and sisters who have the right both to emigrate and not to emigrate, and not become closed in indifference,” Francis said, while decrying “beilligerent (sic) nationalism.””In the face of the terrible scourge of the exploitation of human beings, the solution is not to reject but to ensure, according to the possibilites (sic) of each, an ample number of legal and regular entrances,” he added.
The Tale of Two Popes
Pope Francis has long been an advocate of Europe’s open borders policy. In March 2016, the Pope urged Europe’s Christians to endure the ‘Arab invasion’ through mass-migration.
“How many invasions has Europe experienced in the course of its history? It has always been able to overcome them; moving forward and finding itself better through the exchange between cultures,” he told a group of French Christians. “Today we can talk about an Arab invasion . . . . It is a social fact,” he added.
The current Pope’s warm and welcoming words toward migrants mainly from Muslim-majority countries stand in contrast to those of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who angered the Muslim world with his speech in Regensburg, Germany in September 12, 2006.
“Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,” Pope Benedict said quoting Manuel II Palaiologos, the 15th century Byzantine emperor.
Despite the Pope’s unequivocal apology for merely quoting a historic text, Muslims across the world went on deadly rampage, destroying churches and killing Christians.
Noting the widespread Muslim rage, German weekly Der Spiegel reported in 2006:
Churches were set on fire in the West Bank. Demonstrators in Indonesia chanted: “Crucify the pope.” The pope was burned in effigy in Iraq, and in Kashmir the police, in an effort to avoid unrest, confiscated newspapers that had printed the … quote.
Christian Persecution Under Islam
Pope Francis’ remarks come nearly a month after Muslim mobs in Pakistan burned churches and Christian homes over blasphemy rumors. The Associated Press reported on August 17 that a “mob angered by an alleged Quran desecration attacked a dozen churches and nearly two dozen homes of minority Christians.”
While Muslims migrants enjoy unrestricted access of Western welfare system, the U.S. magazine Christianity Today described the plight of Pakistan’s Christians: “Christians in Pakistan, comprising less than 2 percent of the population or about 3 million people, have long lived under a shadow of fear. Across the country, most of them live in sheer poverty, consigned to menial roles such as sanitation, agricultural labor, and other low-wage jobs.”
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