After hosting the UK's King Charles III and Queen Camilla, French President Emmanuel Macron now plays host to Pope Francis, who arrived in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille Friday (September 22) for the 44th apostolic journey of his pontificate.
The pope's two-day business in the French Mediterranean port city was to primarily participate in and preside over the closing session of the annual Mediterranean Meetings, which were initiatives or conferences held annually by religious communities in Mediterranean coastal cities to find shared solutions to the challenges of the region, particularly migration.
This year's Mediterranean Meetings are attended by about 70 Catholic bishops and 120 young people aged between 20 and 35 from all religious backgrounds, according to Vatican state media.
Two Days in Marseille
Upon landing at Marseille airport, the pope was welcomed by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne before proceeding to the Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica, which overlooks the city, to lead a prayer service there before heading out to an interfaith remembrance ceremony at a monument for sailors and migrants lost at sea.
After the prayer and commemoration service, the pontiff would attend the Mediterranean Meetings before staying the night at the Archbishop of Marseille's residence.
The pope's final activity before returning to Rome would be presiding or offering a Mass on Saturday (September 23), which Macron was expected to attend.
Pope Slams Indifference Toward Migrants
The Associated Press reported that the pope criticized what he called the "fanaticism of indifference" greeting migrants seeking a better life amid Europe's migrant dilemma. He also slammed the continent's collective effort to apply stricter measures on migration, with some countries emphasizing border fences, repatriations, and a possible naval blockade led by Italy to keep migrants out.
The Italian island of Lampedusa was reportedly overwhelmed last week with the arrival of nearly 7,000 migrants in a single day, which was more than its resident population. The pope, who is also Bishop of Rome by virtue of his office, called the Lampedusa drama a "cruelty" towards migrants and a "terrible lack of humanity" on the part of the locals.
"[T]his beautiful sea has become a huge cemetery, where many brothers and sisters are deprived even of the right to a grave," the pope added.
Lampedusa was the very first place the pope went to outside of Rome ever since his election in 2013 to honor and remember the migrants who drowned. Owing to his own Italian immigrant roots, the Argentinian pontiff empathized with and emphasized the plight of migrants, from offering Mass on the US-Mexico border to bringing home 12 Syrian Muslims aboard the papal flight after visiting a refugee camp in the Greek island of Lesbos.
On the other hand, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Lampedusa and backed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's calls to strengthen border security in the continent.
For France's part, officials in Paris said they would keep their coastal and mountain watches, and vowed to turn away any migrant coming from Lampedusa
In the same decade as Francis's papacy, the International Organization of Migration estimated that 28,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, while others have been subject to horrendous conditions in Libyan detention centers where abuse is rife.
"We cannot be resigned to seeing human beings treated as bargaining chips, imprisoned and tortured in atrocious ways," the pope said in clear reference to the Libyan camps. "We can no longer watch the drama of shipwrecks caused by the cruel trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference."
He also thanked humanitarian groups for their efforts to rescue as many migrants as possible, as he insisted that rescuing people from the risk of drowning at sea was "a duty of humanity" and a "duty of civilization."
A Bishop's Wager
Meanwhile, Algeria-born Archbishop of Marseille Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline stated that "aggressive" measures were not the answer, but "naive" and peacenik speeches about everyone living together happily ever after were not helpful either.
"[W]hen political institutions forbid non-governmental organizations and also commercial ships that cross these waters from rescuing shipwreck victims, it's an even more serious crime and violation of the most elementary international maritime law," he added.
Ahead of Francis's visit, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the maritime rescue organization SOS Mediterranee, which operates a ship that assists migrants, issued an urgent appeal for rescues to continue.
"The unfathomable death toll in the Mediterranean this year could have been prevented if the political will was there," the groups said.
