Pope Francis spent the weekend in Marseille where he admonished Europe for their attitude towards migrants. Specifically, the Pontiff took to task those who used words such as ‘invasion’ and ‘emergency’ when discussing the millions of migrants who have arrived in Europe in the last decade. ‘Those who risk their lives at sea do not invade, they look for welcome,’ he pronounced. Those who said otherwise were ‘fuelling alarmist propaganda’ and acting contrary to the teaching of the Catholic church.
The Pope reiterated the Vatican’s four-stage approach to migrants: welcome, protection, promotion and integration, the overriding aim of which is ‘the safeguarding of human dignity’. He continued: ‘Those who take refuge in our midst should not be viewed as a heavy burden to be borne. If we consider them instead as brothers and sisters, they will appear to us above all as gifts.’
The real propaganda comes from those like the Pope, who would have us believe that there is no migrant crisis
Close to where the Pope gave his address in the southern French city is Marseille’s main train station.
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