Leo admonishes Europe at Lampedusa: ‘Victims of decisions made and not made’

After a tour of the island in the same popemobile used by Jorge Bergoglio in 2013, he held a Mass at the local sports field with 4,000 people in attendance. One African woman held up a handwritten sign reading: “Pope Leo: look beyond the sea to the Libyan hell.”

Pope Leo XIV explained the significance of his July 4 trip to Lampedusa as a voyage from the Vatican “to the extreme edge of Europe in the Mediterranean Sea,” from where “one can better see the epochal call that the migration phenomenon addresses to European societies.” He was following in the footsteps of his predecessor Francis, who chose the Sicilian island for his first trip after his election (July 8, 2013), where he famously denounced the “globalization of indifference.”

Robert Prevost was no less forceful. He made gestures and uttered words that highlighted the responsibilities of an unjust economic system, accusing both human traffickers and the political choices of those who erect walls and turn away migrants, while reaffirming the Gospel commandments of aid and hospitality. His trip took place on a highly significant date: July 4. While Donald Trump was celebrating the 250th anniversary of US........

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