MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Pope Francis blasted the “fanaticism of indifference” that greets migrants seeking a better life, as he arrived Friday in the French port of Marseille amid a new influx of would-be refugees from Africa that has sparked a back
Opening a brief, overnight visit to the Mediterranean port, Francis presided over a silent moment of prayer at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea, surrounded by Marseille’s faith leaders and migrant rescue organizations.
Speaking to reporters on the plane en route to Marseille, Francis was asked about the recent influx of migrants to the Italian island of Lampedusa, where the thousands of people who arrived last week briefly outnumbered the island’s resident population.The pope's position on migration is an increasingly lonely one in Europe, where some countries are emphasizing border fences, repatriations and the possibility of a naval blockade to keep a new influx of would-be refugees out.
The modest commemorative plaque stands on a rocky outcropping overlooking Marseille and the Mediterranean Sea, which was bathed in sunlight Friday ahead of the pope's arrival. France, for its part, beefed up patrols at its southern border with Italy, a few hours' drive from Marseille, and increased drone surveillance of the Alps to keep newcomers from crossing over. With a European Parliament election set for next year and France's far right challenging the centrist government's policies, French government officials stood firm.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the maritime rescue organization SOS Mediterranee, which operates a ship that assists migrants, issued Friday an “urgent call for all actors to dignify the lives of children, women and men survivors of rescues at sea.”
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