POPE Francis has demanded that
Europe craft a unified and fair immigration policy, saying the thousands
of refugees coming ashore need acceptance and assistance, not
self-interested policies that risk lives and fuel social conflict.
FRANCIS made the comments on Tuesday to the European Parliament
during a brief visit meant to highlight his vision for Europe a
quarter-century after St John Paul II travelled to Strasbourg to address
a continent still divided by the Iron Curtain.
Greeted with a
lengthy standing ovation at the start and finish of his speech, Francis
said he wanted to bring a message of hope to Europeans distrustful of
their institutions, burdened by economic crisis and spiritually adrift
in a culture that he said no longer values the dignity of human beings.
"A Europe which is no longer open to the transcendent dimension of life
is a Europe which risks slowly losing its own soul," he said. He
called for legislators to promote policies that create jobs and accept
immigrants, saying: "We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast
cemetery!"
The Argentine Jesuit has frequently spoken out about the plight of
migrants seeking a better life in Europe, and travelled to the tiny
island of Lampedusa in 2013 to show solidarity with the thousands of
migrants who arrive and to honour those who have died trying.
Italy, home of the Vatican, has borne the brunt of the burden of
rescuing the migrants, though recently the European Union's border
agency stepped in to help. On Tuesday, Francis warned that the
absence of a coherent EU migration policy "contributes to slave labour
and continuing social tensions." He said Europe will only be able
to confront immigration-related conflict by "enacting adequate
legislation to protect the rights of European citizens and to ensure the
acceptance of immigrants."
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