The Pope: “The Mediterranean and North Africa are cemeteries”

By Euronews in Spanish with EFE

Published 07/08/2023 – 09:47•Last update 11:55

The Pope recalls that the Church is open to homosexuals, denounces that North Africa is also a graveyard for migrants and reiterates his “zero tolerance” against the “plague” of abuses in the Church.

Pope Francis stressed during his return trip from World Youth Day that the Church is not a company that has to be “authorized to enter”, in reference to homosexuals. The Holy Father has underlined the importance of the meeting that the bishops will have in Marseille next month on migration.

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Pope Francis highlighted during the press conference on the papal plane: “The bishops of the Mediterranean will celebrate this meeting, including with some politicians, to reflect seriously on the tragedy of migrants. The Mediterranean is a cemetery, but it is not the most common cemetery. big. The biggest cemetery is in North Africa. This is terrible.”

He has pointed out that in the desert between Tunisia and Libya they are left to die and has denounced the criminal exploitation of migrants in the fields of North Africa. The Supreme Pontiff has also reiterated the zero tolerance that there must be in the Church in the face of the plague of abuses.

In a recent interview with the Spanish magazine “Vida Nueva”, Francisco reiterated that “transsexuals are children of God”.

“The Gospel is for everyone. It is a principle that moves me a lot and that is my philosophy. Jesus says: ‘Go bring me everyone, healthy and sick, just and sinners’. Everyone. And everyone comes in here. If the The Church does not have what Jesus taught her, it is not the Church. Everyone has to feel inside, to be welcomed inside. We cannot give up on that, because the Lord taught us,” the Pope said in this interview.

And he added: “For this reason, I am not worried that some will throw me in the face that I receive in the general audience on Wednesdays for transsexuals.”

During his return, he also assured that his health is fine and that he shortened his speeches to better connect with the youth.

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