– Eloísa Pérez / ACFI / Europa Press / Pool – Europa
Robert Prevost warns of the “silent shipwreck” of those who are left “alone” in a city, without ties, without language, without food, and without shelter.
LA LAGUNA (TENERIFE), 12 (EUROPA PRESS)
On Friday, Pope Leo XIV advocated for a world “without walls” and urged mafias to end human trafficking, stating that “money gained from the vulnerability of the poor will not bring peace, honour, or a future.”
“Stop it, transform yourselves,” he remarked during an event held at Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna, attended by over 2,000 people. He listened to testimonies from migrants and organisations working in reception networks, even sharing in the ‘six-seven’ chant initiated by a young Senegalese.
He stressed that for every life lost and every deceived family, the traffickers will have to answer to “divine justice,” urging them to break these “chains” and “repair what they can” because “there is still time.”
For the Pope, “fear, indifference, and the violence of those who trade in human life cannot have the last word.”
Leo XIV noted that sometimes “the hardest barriers to break down are not always made of stone; they may reside in how we perceive, in fear, or in indifference.” In a “city without walls,” such as La Laguna, “the heart is also called to expand to welcome them.”
Furthermore, he reflected on integration, emphasising that “to integrate does not mean erasing the history of those who arrive” but rather signifies a “reciprocal journey.” Those who arrive “learn to inhabit a new land,” while those who welcome “learn to expand their own home without diluting their identity or closing their hearts to encounter.”
He called on Catholics not to limit integration to just social work, regardless of how necessary it may be. While newcomers require “food, shelter, language, work, and protection,” they should also find a community capable of “offering pathways to know Jesus Christ.”
He urged that the lives of migrants should not be considered “discardable,” their suffering “is not invisible,” and their dignity “has not dissolved in the waters they have crossed.” They seek something greater: a concrete opportunity to restart, to learn, to work, to serve, and not to be forever confined by the condition of victims, he explained.
A CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE CANNOT “REMAIN INDIFFERENT”
The Pope reiterated that a “Christian conscience cannot remain indifferent” to the victims of shipwrecks and the lack of assistance in the “cemeteries of the sea.” He warned of the “silent shipwreck” that results from being “left alone” in a city, not knowing the language, lacking connections, and facing “vulnerability.”
In this context, he stated that “those who arrived as strangers can rediscover ties, rebuild trust, and feel like a living part of a community; this is a precious form of mercy.”
“To integrate is to prevent that second shipwreck; it is to help those who arrive wounded not to remain fixed in their pain, but to stand up again, to acknowledge their gifts, and to offer them to the community,” he highlighted.
Leo XIV also remembered migrants from Latin America, the Philippines, and other regions, stating that they “are part of the community” and “help to renew it.” “Let them also evangelise you,” he indicated.
