Pope Francis postponed his usual catechesis at the General Audience on 28 August to denounce the current situation of migrants, victims of “indifference and rejection.”
Below are the words of Pope Francis:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, putting aside the usual catechesis, I would like to pause with you to think of the people who – even at this moment – are crossing seas and deserts to reach a land where they can live in peace and security.
Sea and desert: these two words appear again in many testimonies I receive, both from migrants and from people who are committed to rescuing them. When I say “sea” in the context of migration, I also mean the ocean, lake, river, all the treacherous bodies of water that so many brothers and sisters from all over the world are forced to cross to reach their destination. And “desert” is not only the one with sand and dunes, or the rocky one, but also all those inaccessible and dangerous territories such as forests, jungles, and steppes, where migrants walk alone, abandoned to their fate. Migrants, sea and desert.
Today’s migration routes are often marked by crossings of seas and deserts, which, for many, too many people, are fatal. That is why today, I wanted to dwell on this drama, on this pain. Some of these routes are better known to us, because they are often in the spotlight; others, the majority, are little known, but no less travelled for that.
I have spoken about the Mediterranean many times, because I am the Bishop of Rome and because it is emblematic: the Mare Nostrum, a place of communication between peoples and civilizations, has become a cemetery. And the tragedy is that many, most of these dead, could have been saved. It must be said clearly: there are those who systematically work by all means to repel migrants. And this, when done with conscience and responsibility, is a grave sin.
Let us not forget what the Bible says: “You shall not mistreat or oppress a foreigner” (Ex 22:20). The orphan, the widow and the foreigner are the poor par excellence whom God always defends and asks to be defended.
Unfortunately, some deserts are also becoming graveyards for migrants. Often, these are not “natural” deaths here either. No. Sometimes they are taken to the desert and left there. We all know the photo of Pato’s wife and daughter. Dying of hunger and thirst in the desert. In the age of satellites and drones, there are migrant men, women and children that no one should see. They are hidden away. Only God sees them and hears their cry. And this is a cruelty of our civilization.
The sea and the desert are also biblical places full of symbolic value. They are very important scenes in the story of the Exodus, the great migration of the people led by God through Moses from Egypt to the Promised Land. These places bear witness to the drama of the people fleeing oppression and slavery. They are places of suffering, fear, despair, but at the same time they are places of passage towards liberation, how many people pass through the seas and deserts to free themselves today, towards redemption, towards freedom and the fulfilment of God’s promises (cf. Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2024).
There is a psalm which, addressing the Lord, says: “You made a way through the waters, a ford through the mighty waters, and not a trace of your footsteps was left” (77:20). And another says: “He led his people through the desert, for his mercy is everlasting” (136:16). These holy words tell us that, in order to accompany his people on the road to freedom, God himself crosses the sea and the desert; God does not remain at a distance, no, he shares the drama of the migrants, he is there with them, he suffers with them, he cries and waits with them. He will do us good today. The Lord is with our migrants in the Mare Nostrum, the Lord is with them, not with those who reject them.
Brothers and sisters, on one thing we can all agree: today’s migrants should not be in these deadly seas and deserts, but unfortunately they are. But it is not through more restrictive laws, it is not through the militarisation of borders, it is not through rejections that we will achieve this. On the contrary, we will achieve this by expanding safe and legal access routes for migrants, by facilitating refuge for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and various calamities; we will achieve this by promoting by all means a global governance of migration based on justice, fraternity and solidarity. And by joining forces to combat human trafficking, to stop the criminal traffickers who mercilessly profit from the misery of others. Dear brothers and sisters, think of the many tragedies of migrants, how many die in the Mediterranean, think of Lampedusa, Crotone, how many ugly and sad things.
I would like to conclude by acknowledging and praising the efforts of so many good Samaritans who do everything possible to rescue and save wounded and abandoned migrants on the roads of desperate hope, on the five continents. These brave men and women are a sign of a humanity that does not allow itself to be infected by the evil culture of indifference and discard, that which kills migrants. Our difference is the attitude of discarding those who cannot be with them on the front line. I think of so many brave people who are there on the front line, Mediterranean Saving Humans , and many other associations. Those who cannot be like them “on the front line” are not excluded from this fight for civilization. We cannot be on the front line but we are not excluded. There are many ways to contribute, above all prayer. I ask you: do you pray for migrants, for those who come to our land to save their lives, or do you want to expel them?
Dear brothers and sisters, let us unite our hearts and our strength, so that the seas and deserts are not cemeteries, but spaces where God can open paths of freedom and fraternity.