Pope Francis will visit refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, on the front line of Europe’s migrant crisis, when he visits Greece later this year, officials said.
Lesbos has for years has been the main port of entry into Europe for asylum seekers and housed Moria, the continent’s largest migrant camp, which the pope previously visited in 2016 but which was destroyed in a devastating fire in 2020.
The pope announced in September that he would visit Greece, Cyprus and Malta without giving a date. A source on Lesbos told AFP on Oct. 14 on condition of anonymity that the pope may arrive in late November or early December, depending on the latest coronavirus situation.
On Oct. 14, an advance party from the Vatican visited Mavrovouni, the temporary camp erected on Lesbos after Moria burnt down, to make plans for the visit.
“Having had a positive experience from his last visit to Lesbos, the Pope wishes to come to Lesbos when he comes to Greece again,” said Joseph Printezis, the Catholic archbishop for Greek islands in the Aegean.
“He wishes to see the evolution of the refugee issue, the fruits of Greece’s efforts and make a humanitarian statement, that the Church and all European peoples care about refugees, and that the weight borne by Greece should be recognised by the other European countries.
“The visit will only involve the camp,” said Manos Logothetis, a senior official from the Greek migration ministry.
After his visit in 2016, the pope took three Syrian families, whose homes were bombed, with him on the papal plane from Lesbos to the Vatcian in what he described as a “humanitarian gesture”.
Support UCA News…
….as we enter the last months of 2021, we are asking readers like you to help us keep UCA News free.
For the last 40 years, UCA News has remained the most trusted and independent Catholic news and information service from Asia. Every week, we publish nearly 100 news reports, feature stories, commentaries, podcasts and video broadcasts that are exclusive and in-depth, and developed from a view of the world and the Church through informed Catholic eyes.
Our journalistic standards are as high as any in the quality press; our focus is particularly on a fast-growing part of the world – Asia – where, in some countries the Church is growing faster than pastoral resources can respond to – South Korea, Vietnam and India to name just three.
And UCA News has the advantage of having in its ranks local reporters who cover 23 countries in south, southeast, and east Asia. We report the stories of local people and their experiences in a way that Western news outlets simply don’t have the resources to reach. And we report on the emerging life of new Churches in old lands where being a Catholic can at times be very dangerous.
With dwindling support from funding partners in Europe and the USA, we need to call on the support of those who benefit from our work.
Click here to find out the ways you can support UCA News. You can make a difference for as little as US$5…
Credit: Source link