Tista’ taqra bil-
Malti.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich said that the European Union (EU) should welcome more Afghan refugees seeking freedom from the oppressive Taliban regime.
Afghanistan is currently facing a political crisis after the Taliban took control of the country two weeks ago with thousands of civilians outside Kabul airport hoping for a way out.
Taliban enter Afghan capital as US diplomats evacuate
Echoing the Bishops of the EU’s appeal to politicians, Hollerich emphasised the importance of welcoming Afghan refugees with open arms.
Hollerich told Vatican News that EU Bishops are worried about Afghans “who are in despair and want to get out” of the country. “It is very clear that all the States of the European Union—and the European Union itself — have to do everything possible to save as many people as possible and also to welcome them inside the EU member countries,” the Cardinal said.
Expressing his concern over those who want to build refugee camps in countries neighbouring Afghanistan, Cardinal Hollerich referred to migrant centres in Libya and countries bordering the EU where mistreatment and exploitation of these vulnerable people run rampant.
Last year, the Pope condemned the Libyan migrant camps by comparing them to Nazi concentration camps, saying the world was being given only a diluted version of how hellish life was for the people living there.
Pope condemns ‘hellish concentration camps’ for migrants in Libya
Hollerich urged EU politicians to show these refugees compassion by welcoming and helping them in their moment of need.
“I would like politicians to not just put geopolitical strategies at the centre of their politics but to care for every single person,” Cardinal Hollerich urged.
Citing the EU’s lecturing of other countries when migrants show up on their doorstep, Hollerich likened Europe to a teacher whose job is to show others what to do in such precarious situations. However, when the EU should act, the Cardinal said, “we do not act, and we do not follow the high standards we teach other people”.
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