Pope Francis on Friday urged that “people who are at risk of drowning when abandoned on the waves must be rescued”, speaking against a background of heightened tensions in Europe over large numbers of arrivals by sea from the Middle East and North Africa.
In remarks dedicated to migrants lost at sea during a visit to the French Mediterranean city of Marseille, he said “it is a duty of humanity, it is a duty of civilisation” to save people in difficulty, warning governments against the “fanaticism of indifference” and “paralysis of fear”.
