The humanitarian crisis of migration; “a shipwreck of civilisation which threatens not only migrants but all of us” – Pope Francis.
Pope Francis has met a Nigerian migrant, Daniel during the last phase of the Papal visit to the Mediterranean island of Malta where he urged countries to always help trying to survive “amidst the waves of the sea”.
At the start of the last day of his trip to the Mediterranean island, Francis visited the Grotto in the town of Rabat.
St. Paul with 75 other people who were shipwrecked on their way to Rome in the year 60 AD lived there for two months. The Bible says they received unusual kindness in the community.
“No one knew their names, their place of birth or their social status; they knew only one thing: that these were people were in need of help,” the pope said in a prayer in the Grotto.
At a Mass for about 20,000 people afterwards, he mostly sat while Valletta Archbishop Charles Scicluna led much of the liturgy on account of his leg pain.
Francis had to use a lift to board his flight in Rome and disembark on arrival in Valletta on Saturday, and at the end of Sunday’s Mass, he skipped the traditional exit procession with all the bishops.
Malta is one of the more important routes used by migrants who cross from Libya to Europe.
“Help us to recognise from afar those in need, struggling amidst the waves of the sea, dashed against the reefs of unknown shores,” the Pope said in prayer at the Grotto.
The government of Prime Minister Robert Abela insists that the island, by far Europe’s most densely populated country, is “full up”, refusing to allow the disembarkation of migrants other than those rescued within its own rescue zone.
Francis’ last stop was a visit to a centre for migrants, known as a “peace lab”.
There, he heard Daniel, a Nigerian, tell of his several attempts to reach Europe in un-seaworthy boats and how he was detained in Libya, Tunisia and Malta.
“Sometimes I cried! Sometimes I wished I had died … why were men like us treating us like criminals and not like brothers?” Daniel said.
A painting of Daniel on the migrant crisis was presented to Pope Francis on Saturday in Rome, ahead of the visit.
Francis told them that the humanitarian crisis of migration was “a shipwreck of civilisation which threatens not only migrants but all of us”.
Mistreatment of migrants sometimes occurs “with the complicity of competent authorities,” he said.