GREECE: Pope Francis condemned the exploitation of refugees for political propaganda on Sunday as he paid his second visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, a main entry point for migrants that has become a symbol of the plight of refugees.
Francis, who first visited Lesbos in 2016 and took 12 Syrian refugees back to Italy with him, returned briefly as part of his five-day trip to Cyprus and Greece to meet with refugees at the Mavrovouni camp, which holds about 2,300 people.
He lamented that “little has changed with regard to the issue of migration” since his last visit five years ago.
The Mediterranean, where thousands have died trying to make the crossing from north Africa to Europe, was still “a grim cemetery without tombstones.”
“I am here to see your faces and look into your eyes. Eyes full of fear and expectancy, eyes that have seen violence and poverty, eyes streaked by too many tears,” he said at the camp’s reception and identification area.
– NATIONAL POST