6, January 2019
The Holy Father urges EU leaders to help migrants stranded in Mediterranean 0
Pope Francis on Sunday urged EU leaders to show “concrete solidarity” with 49 migrants stranded on NGO ships off the coast of Malta who have been refused permission to land. “Forty nine migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by two NGO ships have been on board for several days now, waiting to be able to disembark,” Francis told thousands of people gathered in Saint Peter’s square in Rome.
“I address a pressing appeal to European leaders that they show some concrete solidarity with respect to these people,” he added.
Amid growing concern over the plight of the migrants, some of whom have been at sea for more than two weeks, the European Commission earlier this week called on EU member states to admit them.
The Netherlands and Germany have offered to take some but only if their EU partners do the same, highlighting again the European Union’s long-running deadlock over sharing responsibility for migrants.
There are 17 people on board the German NGO Sea-Eye vessel, with another 32 on the Sea-Watch. Among them are a one-year-old baby and two children aged six and seven. Both Italy and Malta have refused port access and on Sunday they reiterated that position.
“In Italy, there are no more arrivals. That is the line and it will not change,” hardline Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told the Il Messaggero newspaper. “Italian ports are closed and will remain so,” he added in a tweet.
(AFP)
25, February 2019
Pope compares sexual abuse of children to ‘human sacrifice’ 0
Pope Francis on Sunday compared the sexual abuse of children to human sacrifice as he addressed the Catholic Church’s top bishops at the end of a landmark summit to tackle paedophilia.
“Our work has made us realise once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” he said.
Calling for an “all-out battle” against a crime he called abominable, the pontiff said the crime reminded him of “the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites,” he stated.
Francis was speaking after a four-day meeting which he had opened by calling for “concrete measures” on tackling priests and handing 114 senior bishops a roadmap to shape the debate on how to stop a global scandal.
Widespread abuse
“If in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness”.
The ongoing scandals have hit countries around the world, with recent cases affecting Australia, Chile, Germany and the US.
Francis said those who priests who pray on children are “tools of Satan”.
“No explanations suffice for these abuses involving children,” the Argentine pontiff said.
“The echo of the silent cry of the little ones who, instead of finding in them fathers and spiritual guides encountered tormentors, will shake hearts dulled by hypocrisy and by power.
“It is our duty to pay close heed to this silent, choked cry,” he added.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)