Pope Francis called for the elimination of “outdated and belligerent nationalisms”

On Saturday, Pope Francis was present in France where he was received by President Emmanuel Macron, toured a deprived neighborhood and called for a pan-European response to migration and avoid “belligerent nationalisms.” Through an extensive speech in Marseille, the Argentine explained: “There is a cry of pain that is the most resounding of all, and that is turning the mare nostrum into mare mortum, the Mediterranean from the cradle of civilization into the tomb of dignity: It is the muffled cry of migrant brothers and sisters.” The aforementioned Latin terms mean “our sea” and “sea of death”. Taking into account that several European countries such as Italy, Hungary and Poland, have a position against immigration, he called for “a large number of legal and regular entries” and that “the cries of pain that rise from North Africa and the Middle East” be heard. Although he did not name any country specifically, he exclaimed: “How much need we have of this at the present juncture, how many old-fashioned and belligerent nationalisms want to make the dream of the community of nations vanish!” The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recently said 178,500 migrants have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean during 2023 and some 2,500 died or went missing.

Original source in Spanish