Pope goes to Marseille to talk migration, but will Europe listen as it scrambles to stem an influx? - Breaking News | Latest News Today

Ten years aft Pope Francis made a landmark sojourn to nan Italian land of Lampedusa to show solidarity pinch migrants, he is joining Catholic bishops from nan Mediterranean this play successful France to make nan telephone much united.

The mobility is whether anyone successful European corridors of powerfulness will listen, arsenic they scramble to stem a caller tide of would-be refugees mounting disconnected from Africa.

Francis’ overnight sojourn Friday to nan French larboard metropolis of Marseille to adjacent retired a gathering of Mediterranean bishops was scheduled months ago. But it comes arsenic Europe’s migrant problem is erstwhile again making headlines, fixed nan astir 7,000 migrants who came ashore connected Lampedusa wrong a time past week, concisely outnumbering nan resident population.

The play has sparked different information of hand-wringing and pledges of solidarity from European capitals, pinch moreover talk of a naval blockade to forestall departures. It's a argumentation Francis has agelong condemned fixed that an EU-funded cognition to return migrants to Libya lands them successful what Francis has called modern-day attraction camps.

For Francis, nan shocking scenes of men, women and children packed into a exile halfway successful Lampedusa person underscored that migration arsenic a arena must beryllium tackled jointly. The future, he said this past play astir his upcoming travel to Marseille, “will only beryllium prosperous if it is built connected fraternity, putting quality dignity, existent group and particularly nan astir needy, first.”

Francis has agelong made nan plight of migrants a privilege of his papacy, starting from that singular 2013 sojourn to Lampedus, his first arsenic pope. There, Francis celebrated Mass connected an altar made of shipwrecked wood, tossed flowers successful nan oversea successful tribute to migrants who had drowned and decried nan “globalization of indifference” that nan world shows group who consequence their lives to fly poverty, conflict and ambiance disasters to activity a amended life.

Since then, he has made immoderate different high-profile gestures to tie attraction to nan Gospel-mandated telephone to invited strangers, astir spectacularly erstwhile he brought backmost a twelve Syrian Muslims aboard his level pursuing a 2016 sojourn to a exile campy successful Lesbos, Greece. His mantra: Welcome, protect, beforehand and integrate, pinch nan past exhortation an acknowledgement that governments person limits successful their abilities to judge newcomers and genuinely merge them well.

“The connection that he is conveying is that nan Mediterranean is our responsibility,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, nan Vatican’s apical migration master and himself a refugee. “In different words, you can’t look astatine it arsenic each 1 has a spot of coastline and is responsible for that bit. There’s a corporate work which is mostly being neglected.”

In Marseille, 1 of nan astir multicultural, multi-religious and multiethnic cities connected nan shores of nan Mediterranean, nan pontiff will beryllium joined by astir 60 bishops from North Africa, nan Middle East, Balkans and confederate Europe, on pinch young group from those regions. It’s nan 3rd Mediterranean acme of its benignant aft nan first 2 were held successful Italy.

The location is not coincidental. Marseille for hundreds of years has been characterized by a beardown beingness of migrants surviving together successful a contented of tolerance, moreover though coming France's 2nd metropolis is besides known for its precocious crime and unemployment rates, poorness and deficiency of societal services.

Unlike galore different French cities wherever foreigners thin to unrecorded connected nan outskirts, successful Marseille migrants and their descendants of a assortment of backgrounds – Italians, Spaniards and Armenians from Europe; group from France’s erstwhile colonies successful North Africa, West Africa and nan Comoros Islands -- person settled successful nan metropolis center, opening shops and restaurants that lend to nan city’s estimation arsenic a pouring pot.

“Marseilles is so for illustration a metropolis that embodies this diverseness of France,” said Camille Le Coz, subordinate head of Migration Policy Institute’s Europe office, successful Paris. “This awesome contented of migration, but besides a metropolis that is concentrating truthful galore difficulties successful position of entree to nationalist services, insecurity, supplier trafficking. It’s a very analyzable place.”

One of nan highlights of Francis’ travel will beryllium an interfaith dream Friday astatine a Marseille monument dedicated to sailors who died astatine sea, successful this lawsuit honoring nan 28,000 migrants estimated by nan International Organization of Migration who person drowned successful nan Mediterranean since 2014 trying to scope Europe.

The brushwood will bring together leaders of Marseille’s various religion groups – Muslims, Jews, Armenian and Orthodox Christians, and Roman Catholics -- and will characteristic grounds of migrants, rescue groups and nan pope. The speakers’ database suggests a agreed sound to telephone for a civilization of tolerance towards migrants, and lament that nan Mediterranean has become, successful Francis’ words, “the world’s biggest cemetery.”

The mobility is whether anyone successful powerfulness will listen. President Emmanuel Macron, whose authorities has shifted rightward connected migration and information issues, will subordinate Francis connected Saturday and is slated to be his large Mass astatine nan Velodrome. The centrist president has taken a patient stance connected migration aft coming nether disapproval from conservatives and nan acold right. He is pushing to fortify nan EU’s outer borders and wants nan bloc to beryllium much businesslike successful deporting those refused entry.

As a result, France’s existent governmental ambiance and its contented of “laicite” aliases secularism, suggests neither Macron nor different European leaders will needfully heed Francis’ call.

“I deliberation fixed our analyzable narration pinch nan religion and pinch religion, we don’t expect this to person truthful overmuch impact, to beryllium honest,” Le Coz said.

Jeffery Crisp, a investigation chap astatine Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre, said Francis does person a civilized authority and has been wielding it to speak retired nan rumor of migration, calling particularly connected governments to respect world quality authorities principles.

“Does that construe into immoderate benignant of governmental pressure? I simply don’t know,” Crisp asked successful a telephone interview. “But I deliberation you could astir apt reason that it could only person been worse without his interventions.”

Young men who arrived successful Italy amid nan caller activity of migrants dream personification will listen. On a caller day, a group of young men from South Sudan stopped successful Rome en way from Lampedusa towards nan French border. One peculiarly gangly man said he wanted to spell to France to play basketball, different said he wanted to spell to Britain to beryllium a doctor. Their only belongings were nan apparel connected their backs; volunteers gave them shoes.

After spending a fewer nights sleeping connected nan crushed beneath a noisy road overpass adjacent Rome's main autobus station, a non-profit relation bought them inexpensive autobus tickets north. That evening, 16 boys near connected a autobus bound for Marseille.

They were readying to get disconnected earlier nan French border, wherever constabulary checks person reportedly accrued amid Italy’s caller influx, and to effort to transverse connected foot. One of them, a 16-year-old named Dot, was wearing caller yellowish Converse sneakers provided by volunteers.

“We walked from South Sudan,” Dot said earlier boarding. “We tin locomotion to France.”

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Associated Press belief sum receives support done nan AP’s collaboration pinch The Conversation US, pinch backing from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.