in Lesbos, the Pope calls for an end to a “shipwreck of civilization”

Pope Francis called for an end to a “shipwreck of civilization”, Sunday, December 5, during a speech at the Mavrovouni migrant camp in Lesbos. He was returning to this Greek island emblematic of the migration crisis, five years after his first visit. The Mediterranean “is turning into a cold cemetery without tombstones”, did he declare. “Let us not allow the mare nostrum to turn into a desolate mare mortuum, for this meeting place to become the theater of conflicts!”, launched the sovereign pontiff in front of migrants.

Visibly moved, the Pope called for “look at children’s faces”. “Let us have the courage to feel shame in front of them, who are innocent and represent the future”, he urged. “Let’s not run away too quickly from the crude images of their little bodies lying on the beaches”. Again lashing out “withdrawal into oneself and nationalisms”, the pope called to “do not turn your back on reality”, attacking with force “the indifference that kills, the cynical disinterest which, with its velvet gloves, condemns to death those who are on the margins.”

The pontiff also ruled “sad to hear the use of common funds to build walls as a solution”, because “It is not by raising barriers that the problems have been solved”. He estimated “on the other hand, it is necessary to support internal processes to overcome ghettoizations and to promote slow and essential integration”, before saying a Ave Maria, picked up by the audience.

A few minutes earlier, the Pope had been greeted by a walkabout by migrants who had gathered between the containers and the tents of the camp. In a very warm atmosphere, he greeted and blessed the families present, including many children. He also distributed presents to migrants, such as a rosary given to a 60-year-old from Afghanistan, before taking the plane to Athens where he is to celebrate mass in front of 2,500 faithful.