The head of the Catholic Church must pay his respects on Friday evening in front of a memorial dedicated to the dead in the Mediterranean. Quite a symbol, after ten years of fighting against “indifference” and for a dignified welcome for displaced populations.
He arrives in France, looking towards the Mediterranean. Pope Francis is expected in Marseille on Friday September 22 for a two-day visit marked by a meeting with Emmanuel Macron and a mass at the Vélodrome stadium. The sovereign pontiff, however, warned in August that he was coming “in Marseille, not in France” meaning that his trip would not constitute a state visit. “The problem that concerns me is the Mediterranean problem” , he explained.
>> Visit of Pope Francis to Marseille: follow his arrival for his two-day trip to the Phocaean city
The sovereign pontiff’s trip punctuates the third edition of the Mediterranean Meetings, a meeting of bishops and young people from around the Mediterranean, which began in the Phocaean city on September 16. These meetings, which are taking place for the first time outside Italy, aim in particular to “reflect on the drama of migrants”the pope remarked . “That’s why I’m going to Marseille”he justified.
Since his election in March 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio has made the migration issue a cornerstone of his pontificate. This theme will once again be at the center of his stay in Marseille with a first highlight of meditation, Friday, at 6 p.m., in front of a stele dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea. With his back to the Old Continent, the pope will face the Mediterranean, in the continuity of his sometimes controversial action to a more welcoming and tolerant world.
“We are all migrants”
From July 2013, barely wearing his white skullcap, Pope Francis took on the role of whistleblower of the migration crisis. For his first outing outside Rome, he chose the Italian island of Lampedusa and denounced “a globalization of indifference” in the face of the tragedies playing out at the gates of Europe. “The Church is at your side in the search for a more dignified life”, he says, to the attention of the newly arrived exiles. Already, he made an impression by presiding over a mass with a pastoral staff made from the wood of a makeshift boat.
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In 2016, three months after inviting 7,000 migrants to a mass at the Vatican, the sovereign pontiff caused a sensation again. During the Holy Thursday celebrations in Rome, he washed and kissed the feet of 12 Christian, Muslim and Hindu asylum seekers, as Jesus did with his 12 apostles, according to the Gospel. He then goes to the Greek island of Lesbos, the place of arrival and detention of thousands of migrants. On the return plane, he boarded with him “three families of Syrian refugees” and welcomes them to the Vatican. “We are all migrants”chants the Argentinian son and grandson of Italian immigrants.
Through his shocking words and actions, the pope offends conservative circles. “He shocked many Catholics by appearing with Muslim migrants, to the point of sometimes being accused of Islamophilia”observes Vincent Geisser, researcher at CNRS and publication director of the journal Migrations Society. Unlike its predecessors, “the pope goes beyond simple Christian charity towards foreigners and defends a mixed society, with an integrationist vision.”
“This child from Buenos Aires believes deeply in the virtues of welcome and integration into cosmopolitan societies.”
Vincent Geisser, researcher at CNRSat franceinfo
Pope Francis, however, continues the humanitarian diplomacy of the Holy See. “HAS After the Second World War, Pope Pius XII was already making militant speeches calling for national and international powers to do more for the 20 million displaced people at the time.recalls historian Marie Levant, specialist in Vatican diplomacy at the French Institute of the Middle East.
“To welcome the other is to welcome God”
Quickly, the migration issue constituted for Pope Francis a gateway into the field of international relations. “His predecessor, Benedict XVI, was a theologian who had little interest in the subject”says François Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory of Religion, within the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (Iris). “Without being a specialist in these issues, Pope Francis has made the theme of peace a strong focus of his pontificate and has massively remobilized the Church and its networks of diplomats.” The subject of migrations allowed him to claim “leadership” on the world stage, even if it means brushing “obsession”according to the researcher.
“The pope has tended to overemphasize the migration issue, to the detriment of issues such as military security. The war in Ukraine took him by surprise and we heard little about it.”
François Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory of Religionat franceinfo
As a moral power, the sovereign pontiff seeks to influence the course of migratory history. In 2016, while Donald Trump was campaigning and wanted to strengthen the border between the United States and Mexico, the pope celebrated a giant mass from the border town of Ciudad Juarez. When he left, he directly attacked the future American president: “A person who wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian”he accuses. “To welcome others is to welcome God in person”he had argued a few months earlier.
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In April 2023, it is in Hungary that the Pope attempts a new trial in Christianity against those tempted by nationalist and identity withdrawal. On the theme of “true faith”he defines catholicity as an effort “inclusive and never exclusive”. “Let’s try to be like Jesus, a door that is never slammed in anyone’s face”he pleads, in front of 80,000 people, including Protestant Prime Minister Viktor Orban, self-proclaimed defender of Europe’s Christian roots. “Believers in Christ put first the charity that unites, not the historical, cultural and religious differences that divide”declared Pope Francis.
“Let each parish welcome a family”
Brilliant strokes, but what results? Despite his activism, “little has changed on the migration issue”regretted the Pope in 2021. “His words in Europe and France have no significant impact”, estimates researcher François Mabille. But its influence is not zero, particularly within the Church.
“The Pope’s speech has an impact on the mobilization of Catholic institutions, within parishes or charitable associations, which work hard to welcome migrants.”
Vincent Geisser, researcher at CNRSat franceinfo
In 2015, the sovereign pontiff called “each parish, each religious community, each monastery” to accommodate a family. His message was relayed by the French bishops and inspired, in 2017, the signing of a protocol with the State to welcome hundreds of Syrian refugees.
During his visit to Marseille, the head of the Church should “to comfort in their approach” the proponents of social Catholicism, “without converting to his cause the Catholics more favorable to a restrictive asylum policy, who see in him a ‘left’ pope, too open”, predicts François Mabille. However, its presence could “ensure that criticism does not turn into dissent”, envisages Vincent Geisser. The issue is therefore to “resolder” believers, argues the researcher, and perhaps also to emphasize that Catholic vitality in France is based more and more on “the contribution of priests from abroad” and on “migrants and descendants of migrants” who attend masses.
“The Pope’s speech responds to a form of realism, because the survival of the Church in Europe depends in part on its Africanness.”
Vincent Geisser, researcher at CNRSat franceinfo
Despite limited diplomatic achievements, Pope Francis intends to continue his efforts. “He remains a figure of moral authority, who has the ear of heads of state and government”defends Vincent Geisser. “In Italy, we can think that he plays a role in containing the head of government, Giorgia Meloni, in the application of her far-right program.” Questioned by franceinfo, the Elysée assures that “the pope is a precious support for convince” France’s partners “ of the usefulness of acting at European level”a solution dear to Emmanuel Macron.
The pope’s visit to Marseille could finally highlight his increasingly marked interest in the roots of the migratory phenomenon. “After having for a long time made very accusatory remarks against European countries, he has toned down this criticism over the past year and a half. He calls for more action to be taken against the political and economic causes of migration”, observes François Mabille. This look towards the countries of departure will be reflected, on Sunday, on the occasion of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, by a call from the Pope to defend “the possibility of living in peace and dignity on one’s own land”. As long as this “right not to emigrate” will not be guaranteed, “many will still have to leave in search of a better life”he will defend.