Pope Francis says migration a reality, urges Europe to not consider migrants as ‘invaders’

Pope Francis on Saturday (September 23) appealed to the European governments to welcome migrants in their countries and not to consider them as “invaders”, as the religious leader stepped his foot into a very sensitive political debate which has been inflamed by mass arrivals.

"Those who risk their lives at sea do not invade, they look for welcome," said Francis in a speech during a conference of bishops and young people from the Mediterranean in the French port city of Marseille.

Mediterranean turning into a 'sea of death': Pope

"There is a cry of pain that resonates most of all, and it is turning the Mediterranean, the 'mare nostrum', from the cradle of civilization into the 'mare mortuum', the graveyard of dignity: it is the stifled cry of migrant brothers and sisters," he stated, as he used Latin terms meaning "our sea" and "sea of death".

Migration is "a reality of our times, a process that involves three continents around the Mediterranean and that must be governed with wise foresight, including a European response," said the pontiff.

The 35-minute speech of Pope Francis got a standing ovation from his audience, however, his stance on migration may have not pleased French President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who were present at the event and have been planning tougher measures for controlling arrivals.

The forceful interventions of the pope come as mass arrivals ignited the migration debate on the Italian island of Lampedusa last week.

Speaking at a monument to people lost at sea on his arrival in Marseille on Friday, the pontiff had insisted that "people who are at risk of drowning when abandoned on the waves must be rescued".

He said that migrants who face the risk of drowning at sea "must be rescued" because doing so is "a duty of humanity" and that those who avoid rescuing such people commit "a gesture of hate".

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He thanked aid groups for rescuing migrants in danger at sea, condemning efforts to prevent their work as "gestures of hate".

Pope holds talks with French President Macron

On Saturday, Pope Francis also met French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseille. He started his day with a visit to the centre for the needy in the Saint Mauront district of Marseilles, which is being run by the order of nuns founded by Saint Mother Teresa.

The issues related to migration have dominated his 27-hour trip.

(With inputs from agencies)