The Mediterranean is the largest cemetery in Europe: Pope Francis

“Let’s think about all this: the Mediterranean has become the largest cemetery in Europe,” he continued. | Photo: AFP

Pope Francis He warned Sunday that the Mediterranean has become “the largest cemetery in Europe,” Remember the migrants who died trying to reach the continent.

During the classic Sunday prayer to the angels, Pope Francis highlighted a ceremony in Sicily to commemorate the April 2015 tragedyAbout 800 migrants heading from Libya to Italy drowned when their boat capsized.

This is “a symbol of the many tragedies recorded in the Mediterranean, which will continue to defy everyone’s conscience and encourage the growth of a more united humanity, breaking the wall of indifference”, Pope Francis noted.

“Let’s think about all this: the Mediterranean has become the largest cemetery in Europe,” he continued.

Thousands of people set out every year, hoping for a better life in Europe, from North Africa, most of the time in crowded and substandard boats, run by unscrupulous smugglers.

On Saturday, more than a dozen boats arrived on the small Italian island of Lampedusa, according to the ANSA news agency, with more than 1,200 migrants staying there in emergency facilities.

Why is the Mediterranean the largest cemetery in Europe?

The central Mediterranean is one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. It patrols a handful of relief boats mostly from NGOs, who complain that EU authorities are not doing enough to support their cause.

More than half a thousand people died trying to cross into Italy and Malta between January and mid-May this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency.