Pope Francis will meet with refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos on April 16 to show his support and solidarity for the migrants. Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press office, said the invitation for the pope to visit the island came from Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, and Greek president Read more
Pope Francis has called on parishes across Europe on Sunday to give donations to the victims of the conflict in Ukraine. The pontiff on Sunday announced that there will be special collections on April 24 in all European Catholic churches to “alleviate the material needs” of all who are suffering “the consequences of the violence” Read more
Pope Francis decried the abandonment of refugees entering Europe in his Palm Sunday homily in the Vatican. “Even as every form of justice is denied to him, Jesus also experiences, in his own flesh, indifference,” the pope said. “Since no one wishes to take responsibility for his fate, I am thinking of so many other Read more
Pope Francis on Sunday called on European countries to share equally the burden of helping refugees who have been displaced by war and other “inhumane” situations. The pontiff said a “unanimous response” from European countries is needed to “share the burden fairly.” “The plight of refugees fleeing wars and other inhuman situations has always been Read more
Europeans are resisting having children due to a culture of comfort, with declining birth rates leading to increased migration, Pope Francis said in an interview. In a wide-ranging interview with a journalist from Portuguese radio station Renascença, the Pontiff said he wasn’t pointing his finger “at anyone in particular”. “When there is an empty space, people Read more
Pope Francis has called on Catholic parishes, convents and monasteries across Europe to shelter at least one refugee family each. The Pope said the two small parishes at the Vatican “will welcome in these days two families of refugees”. The plight of refugees from war-torn Syria has sparked calls for action worldwide, notably after a Read more
Judging from the headlines, it sometimes seems no one in Europe wants to help refugees. Record numbers are arriving in Italy and Greece this year, and yet other European governments have agreed to share less than a fifth of them. Hungary is building a wall to keep them out. For the same reason, France has Read more
The images and words are so very similar. Back then, the German chancellor said she was “deeply upset” — today she is “appalled.” Back then, the president of the European Commission said he would never forget the dead, and that something had to change — today he claims: “The status quo is not an option.” Read more
Over the centuries, Italy’s image has fluctuated in northern Europe. Italians have been associated with dancing masters, fencing tutors, glass makers, opera divas and tenors – and the provenance of the pizza and ice cream. In Albania, despite Italy’s wartime invasion of that country, the fondest memory retained was that of Italian ice cream, which Read more
Workers at the Warsaw headquarters of Frontex, the European border protection agency, track every single irregular boat crossing and every vessel filled with refugees. Since December 2013, the authority has spent hundreds of millions of euros deploying drones and satellites to surveil the borders. The EU registers everything that happens near its borders. In contrast Read more