Pope Francis and other Christian leaders are expected to meet migrants tomorrow, in an effort to highlight the dramatic situation of refugees left in limbo on the Greek island of Lesbos.
“Naturally, the Pope wants to be there in order to draw attention to the sense of solidarity and responsibility” of all Christians, said Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi.
Fr Lombardi said the Pope wants to go to Lesbos for the same reasons that drew him to visit the Italian island of Lampedusa: to point to “the reality of refugees and immigrants” and because “he sees an important emergency” unfolding there.
The joint visit by the Pope and two Orthodox leaders in the region also shows “that the Christian churches are united on the frontlines of major challenges, before humanitarian emergencies, problems of justice and peace in the world today,” Fr Lombardi said.
The Pope will be joined by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox, and Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and all of Greece, for the day-long visit.
It will be the second time in recent history that a pope has visited Greece: in 2001 St John Paul II made a historic pilgrimage that included Syria and Malta as he traced the evangelising route of St Paul.
Lesbos is just a few miles from the coast of Turkey, and for years migrants and refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East have been arriving on this and other nearby islands in an effort to reach Western Europe. Around 172,000 migrants have crossed into Greece and Italy since the start of 2016, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
African refugees to move in with Franciscans in Assisi
A medieval convent near Assisi has opened its doors once again to offer refugees sanctuary and assistance.
With the support of the Order of Friars Minor in Umbria, the local branch of Caritas will provide educational, cultural and language assistance to 13 men from Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.
The Franciscan order said: “Welcoming refugees represents a work of mercy, called for by the appeals of Pope Francis and the entire provincial fraternity.”
Just months after his election in 2013 Francis said Church buildings that no longer house nuns and friars and other Religious should be used to shelter refugees.
“Empty convents and monasteries should not be turned into hotels by the Church to earn money,” he said.
The buildings “are not ours, they are for the flesh of Christ, which is what the refugees are”, Pope Francis said.
The refugees will live in the 15th-century Convent of Santissima Annunziata in the hills of Assisi for at least a year. Together with Caritas workers and the two Franciscans who live at the convent, they will help with upkeep and cooking.
Brother prays for seized priest
Mathew Uzhunnalil, brother of kidnapped Salesian Fr Thomas Uzhunnalil, is staying on his own in his family home in Ramapuram, praying and reciting the rosary, until he receives any further news.
“Leave everything in God’s hands and trust in him. Everything is secure in God’s hands,” he said. Speaking of his brother’s deep faith he said: “Fr Thomas is a very cool and quiet person.”
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