On July Fourth, Pope Leo urges U.S. to welcome, protect and assist immigrants – The Washington Post
In Lampedusa, island gateway to Europe, the U.S.-born pope stressed human dignity and told America: « in every generation » immigrants “helped to shape the nation’s character.”
LAMPEDUSA, Italy ― Pope Leo XIV on Saturday defended the dignity of migrants during a visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa, where the Mediterranean waters beckon as a pathway of hope to a better life in Europe but also have become a graveyard for many who die trying.
Leo’s appearance commemorated a landmark visit to Lampedusa on July 8, 2013, by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who used his first pastoral trip away from Rome to signal the plight of migrants as an increasingly prominent issue for the global Catholic Church.
For Leo, the first U.S.-born pontiff, there was added symbolism in making his own statement about migrants on July Fourth — what Vatican officials described as a “counterpoint” to the migrant crackdown in the United States, which Leo has called “inhuman.”
Leo laid a bouquet of white and yellow flowers at the simply marked graves of migrants drowned at sea, and held an outdoor Mass, where he invoked the parable of the Good Samaritan and sought to inspire a nation, a continent and a world increasingly weary of mass migration.
“The Gospel resounds where peoples meet, people welcome one another, their lives intertwine and different cultures engage in dialogue,” Leo said. “It falls silent, however, when each person makes him or herself an island.”
