Pushing away migrants is a ‘grave sin’ – Detroit Catholic

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — It is “a grave sin” to keep migrants away from the prospect of peace and security in a new land, Pope Francis has said.

“It must be said clearly: there are people who systematically and by all means try to drive away migrants, and this, if done consciously and deliberately, is a grave sin,” he said during his general audience on August 28.

The pope began his audience in St. Peter’s Square by explaining that he would postpone the “usual catechesis” – he is currently busy with a series of talks on the Holy Spirit – to talk about “the people who – even at this moment – are crossing seas and deserts to reach a land where they can live in peace and security.”

“Brothers and sisters, we can all agree on one thing: Migrants do not belong in those seas and in those deadly deserts,” he said. “And unfortunately, they are there.”

But migrants cannot be deterred from those deadly crossings “by stricter laws, nor by the militarization of borders, nor by rejections,” the pope said. “Instead, we will achieve it by expanding safe and legal avenues for migrants, by offering refuge to those fleeing wars, violence, persecution and many calamities; we will achieve it by promoting in every way a global governance of migration based on justice, fraternity and solidarity.”

Everyone, he added, must join hands “to combat human trafficking” and “put an end to criminal traffickers who ruthlessly exploit the misery of others.”

“Our indifference and rejection are the death knell for migrants,” he said. He praised the many “good Samaritans” and organizations that support migrants and noted that ordinary people must also be involved in alleviating the migration problem.

“We cannot be on the front lines, but we are not excluded; there are many ways to contribute, first of all prayer,” the Pope said, directly asking visitors to the square: “Do you pray for migrants? For those who come to our country to save their lives?”

Pope Francis followed a meaningful silence as he put his question to the audience.

The pope specifically mentioned Mediterranea Saving Humans — an Italian NGO that rescues migrants crossing the Mediterranean — as a group “on the front lines” of the migrant crisis. The group posted a message on social media on August 24 saying that the pope had blessed the crew of a ship that was sailing on a rescue mission in the Mediterranean, organized with the migration office of the Italian bishops’ conference.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, 4,110 people died or went missing while crossing the Mediterranean in 2023.

Regarding the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean, the Pope said that “the tragedy is that many, most of these deaths, could have been prevented.”

Pope Francis reflected on the seas and deserts that migrants often cross to reach their destination, emphasizing the biblical significance of such areas as “places of suffering, of fear, of despair, but at the same time they are places of passage to liberation, to redemption, to the attainment of freedom and the fulfillment of God’s promises.”

Yet the Mediterranean Sea and the deserts, plains, forests and jungles that migrants cross in search of a better life have become “migrant cemeteries,” the pope said. “And even here, these are often not ‘natural’ deaths, no. Sometimes they have been taken to the desert and abandoned.”

But, Pope Francis said, “to accompany people on their journey to freedom, God himself crosses the sea and the desert.”

“God does not remain at a distance, no. He shares in the drama of the migrants, God is there with them, with the migrants,” he said. “He suffers with them, with the migrants, he cries and hopes with them.”