Sea and Desert — Catholic Arena

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today I will postpone the usual catechesis and I would like to reflect with you on the people who – even at this moment – ​​are crossing seas and deserts to reach a land where they can live in peace and security.

Sea and desert: these two words recur in many testimonies that I receive, both from migrants and from those who come to their aid. And when I say “sea”, in the context of migrations I also mean the ocean, the lake, the river, all the treacherous bodies of water that so many brothers and sisters around the world are forced to cross to reach their destination. And “desert” is not only that of sand and dunes, or rocks, but it is also those inaccessible and dangerous areas, such as forests, jungles, steppes where migrants walk alone, abandoned to their fate. Migrants, sea and desert. Today’s migratory routes are often marked by the crossing of seas and deserts, which are fatal for many, too many people – too many! That is why I want to reflect today on this drama, this pain. Some of these routes we know well, because they are often in the spotlight; others, the majority, are little known, but no less

I have often spoken about the Mediterranean Sea, because I am Bishop of Rome and because it is a symbol: the mare nosehas become a place of communication between peoples and civilizations – the mare nose – it has become a cemetery. And the tragedy is that many, the majority of these deaths, could have been prevented. It must be said clearly: there are people who work systematically and with all possible means to repel migrants – to repel migrants. And this, when done with consciousness and responsibility, is a grave sin. Let us not forget what the Bible tells us: “You shall not wrong or oppress a foreigner” (Ex 22:21). The orphan, the widow, and the stranger are the typical poor whom God always defends and asks to be defended.

Unfortunately, some deserts also become graveyards for migrants. And even here, it is not always a “natural” death. No. Sometimes they are taken to the desert and left behind. We all know the photo of Pato’s wife and daughter, who died of hunger and thirst in the desert. In the age of satellites and drones, there are migrant men, women and children that no one is allowed to see: they are hidden. Only God sees them and hears their cries. And this is a cruelty of our civilization.

The sea and the desert are indeed also biblical places, charged with symbolic value. They are very important scenes in the history of the Exodus, the great migration of the people led by God through Moses from Egypt to the promised land. These places bear witness to the drama of the people fleeing oppression and slavery. They are places of suffering, fear and despair, but at the same time they are places of passage for liberation – and how many people cross the seas and the deserts to free themselves, today – they are places of passage for redemption, to reach freedom and the fulfillment of God’s promises (cf. Message for World Migrants and Refugees Day 2024).

There is a psalm that says to the Lord: “Your way was through the sea / Your path through the great waters” (77:19). And another says that He “led His people through the desert / For His steadfast love endures forever” (136:16). These words, blessed words, tell us that, 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 suffers with them, with the migrants, He weeps and hopes with them, with the migrants. It will be good for us today: the Lord is with our migrants in the mare noseThe Lord is with them, not with those who push them away.

Brothers and sisters, we can all agree on one thing: migrants do not belong in those seas and in those deadly deserts. But it is not by tightening laws, it is not by militarizing borders, it is not by rejection that we will achieve this result. Instead, we will achieve it by expanding safe and legal routes for migrants, by offering refuge to those who are free from war, violence, persecution and various disasters; we will achieve it by promoting in every way possible a global governance of migration based on justice, fraternity and solidarity. And by joining forces to combat human trafficking, to stop the criminal traffickers who mercilessly exploit the misery of others.

I would like to conclude by recognizing and praising the commitment of the many Good Samaritans who do their utmost to rescue and save wounded and abandoned migrants on the routes of desperate hope, on the five continents. These courageous men and women are a sign of a humanity that does not let itself be contaminated by the evil culture of indifference and rejection – it is our indifference and that attitude of rejection that kills migrants. And those who cannot stay with them “on the front line” – I think of the many good people who are there on the front line, with Mediterranea Saving Humans and so many other associations – are therefore not excluded from this fight for civilization. We cannot be on the front line, but we are not excluded; there are many ways to contribute, first of all prayer. And I ask you: do you pray for migrants, for those who come to our countries to save their lives? And then they want to send them away…

Dear brothers and sisters, let us join our hearts and strengths so that the seas and deserts will not be cemeteries, but spaces where God can open paths to freedom and brotherhood.