Pope Francis affirms that rejecting migrants is a grave sin

Pope Francis postponed his usual catechesis at the General Audience on August 28 to denounce the current situation of migrants, victims of “indifference and discarding” who lose their lives in the “deadly” seas and deserts in search of a life of peace and security.

In a severe tone and with a slow voice, the Holy Father cast his gaze on the seas and deserts where many migrants die. He referred to the sea as “all the treacherous bodies of water that so many brothers and sisters from all over the world are forced to cross to reach their destination.”

In the case of the desert, he also referred to “all those inaccessible and dangerous territories such as forests, jungles, steppes, where migrants walk alone, abandoned to their fate.”

Next, Pope Francis denounced, as on previous occasions, that the Mediterranean (our sea) has become a cemetery. “And the tragedy is that many, most of these dead, could have been saved,” he lamented.

Repelling migrants is a serious sin

“It must be said clearly: there are those who systematically work by all means to repel emigrants. And this, when done conscientiously and responsibly, is a serious sin,” he asserted.

In this sense, he recalled that “the orphan, the widow and the stranger are the poor par excellence whom God always defends and asks to defend.”

“Some deserts, unfortunately, also become cemeteries for migrants. Often, these are not ‘natural’ deaths here either. No. Sometimes they take them to the desert and abandon them there,” he denounced.

“In the era of satellites and drones, there are migrant men, women and children that no one should see. They hide them. Only God sees them and hears their cry. And this is a cruelty of our civilization.”

For Pope Francis, these places “are witnesses to the drama of the people fleeing oppression and slavery. They are places of suffering, of fear, of despair, but at the same time they are places of passage towards liberation, towards redemption, towards freedom and the fulfillment of God’s promises.

“The Lord is with the migrants”

For this reason, he stressed that “to accompany the people on the path to freedom, God himself crosses the sea and the desert; He does not remain at a distance, no, he shares the drama of the emigrants, he is there with them, he suffers with them, he cries and waits with them.

“The Lord is with our migrants in the our sea“The Lord is with them, not with those who reject them,” the Pontiff warned.

On one thing we can all agree, Pope Francis continued, “in those deadly seas and deserts, today’s migrants should not be. But it is not through more restrictive laws, it is not through the militarization of borders, it is not through rejections that we will achieve it.”

“On the contrary, we will achieve it by expanding safe and legal access routes for migrants, facilitating refuge for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and various calamities; We will achieve this by promoting by all means global governance of migration based on justice, fraternity and solidarity. And joining forces to combat human trafficking, to stop criminal traffickers who mercilessly take advantage of the misery of others,” he noted.

Finally, he recognized and praised “the efforts of so many good Samaritans, who do everything possible to rescue and save injured and abandoned migrants on the routes of desperate hope, on the five continents.”

“These brave men and women are a sign of a humanity that does not allow itself to be infected by the evil culture of indifference and discard. And those who cannot be like them ‘on the front line’ are not excluded from this fight for civilization: there are many ways to contribute, above all prayer,” he stated.

“Dear brothers and sisters, let us unite our hearts and our strength, so that the seas and deserts are not cemeteries, but spaces where God can open paths of freedom and fraternity,” Pope Francis concluded.

At the end of his reflection, during his greeting to the pilgrims, Pope Francis specifically addressed a group of young people to encourage them to attend Mass every Sunday and approach the Sacrament of Penance.

Also, as usual, he ended the General Audience praying for peace in the world, especially in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and Myanmar. “May the Lord give you the gift of peace,” concluded the Holy Father.