Pope Francis (l) receives the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo (r), in the private Library of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, on January 15, 2024, in Vatican City. – Vatican Media
ROME, 15 (EUROPA PRESS)
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has invited Pope Francis to stopover in the Canary Islands when he travels to Argentina, a destination that Francis himself confirmed this Sunday that he has planned for the second half of the year to avoid the “mass flight” of the migrants to Europe.
This was made clear by the Canary Islands politician after the private audience he held this Monday, January 15, in the Vatican with the Pontiff who, according to what he said, has highlighted the importance of investment in Africa for more investment in the African continent to stop massive migrations.
After meeting with the Pope at 8:30 a.m., Clavijo explained in statements to the media in the Vatican that the Pontiff has not confirmed this possible visit to the archipelago that the Canary Islands Government is extending to him so that he can be a direct witness of the migration crisis that the people are experiencing. islands, which have received a record number of migrants arriving on their shores, with 39,910 people.
Asked directly about the possibility of the Pope making a stopover in the Canary Islands on one of his trips, such as, for example, to Argentina, Clavijo detailed that, although he has been invited, “he has not confirmed. “We have not gone into detail. of that scale, because obviously that will have to be resolved with the protocol part. But we have conveyed to him, the vice president and I, the desire and desire that it could be the stopover in the Canary Islands,” he stressed.
The vice president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Domínguez, was also present at the event, which took place in the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace; the Minister of the Presidency, Public Administrations, Justice and Security, Nieves Lady Barreto, and the head of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Children and Families, Candelaria Delgado. Likewise, the bishops of the Canary Islands Bernardo Álvarez, José Mazuelos and Cristóbal Déniz have also attended.
The Canarian president has also expressed surprise at the fact that the Pope had such “knowledge” of the migratory pressure that his autonomous community is experiencing. “He was aware or was one of those who emphasized to us the importance of investment in Africa to avoid this massive flight of the population from the different African countries to the rest of Europe,” he commented.
In this sense, he frames this meeting, which he described as “important”, in the efforts of the Canarian Government “to let the rest of the world know that the Canary Islands need them. “The immigrants who come to our land need them, that we alone cannot we will be able to face a situation like this,” he said.
Thus, he has made it clear that although there is a solidarity predisposition “to be able to serve them” and they are committed “to receiving them and being able to help them”, the Canary Islands “cannot face a situation like this.” “Today, Your Holiness, you have been fundamental in letting the rest of the world know and notice the importance of this immigration issue, this massive migration that is occurring in our land,” she said.
On the other hand, Clavijo has insisted on the “need” for unaccompanied minors who arrive in the Canary Islands to be “taken care of by the central government” and has shown his “concern” about “the fact of being able to transfer or transfer immigration powers to Catalonia”.
“Some other communities are already joining this request, something that worries us because I believe that this does not have to be a problem solely and exclusively of those of us closest to African territory, but of all the autonomous communities, which should not be be based solely and exclusively on solidarity, but must be regulated by law,” he warned.
For his part, for the vice president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Domínguez, the appointment with the Pope has meant that the Atlantic route, a highly deadly route, “which seems not to exist”, has become “fixed.” “We are talking about that in 2023, 40,000 people will arrive on our shores, 70% of all immigrants who arrived in Spain, and that every day 16 people die trying to find a better future,” he stated.
He also added that the Pope thanked them for the “solidarity” of the Canarian people in welcoming “those who come fleeing hunger and death.”
LETTER FROM UNACCOMPANIED MINOR MINORS
The Canarian delegation has delivered a series of objects to the Pope to bring him closer to the reality of the humanitarian drama. Among them are various letters, which give voice to the more than 4,500 unaccompanied foreign minors who have arrived in the Canary Islands in recent months and who today live here looking for an opportunity for a future life.
“It is a little book with a letter from immigrant children, 4,521, with their wishes and their gratitude to the Pope,” said Domínguez. In addition, they have also given him some sweets from the island of La Laguna and a manuscript of the bull Pastor Bonus of Pope Pius II, issued in 1462, supported by the bishop of the Canary Islands, Diego López de Illescas, in which he granted him various privileges. to act with the excommunication of anyone who enslaved the aborigines of the islands.
