• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Migrants rest on NGO rescue ship Ocean Viking in the Mediterranean Sea Nov. 8, 2022. Pope Francis said governments cannot and should not try to stop migration over the Mediterranean, but they must find better, more coordinated ways to handle the movement of people. (CNS photo/Camille Martin Juan/Sos Mediterranee/handout via Reuters)

Migration must be managed, not stopped, pope tells European governments

December 2, 2022
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: Feature, Immigration and Migration, News, Vatican, World News

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Migration across the Mediterranean Sea is as old as humanity, and while some governments say they want to stop that movement of people, it will not and should not happen, Pope Francis said.

“Migration is essential to the well-being of this area and cannot be stopped. Therefore, it is in the interest of all parties to find a solution that is inclusive of the various aspects and just demands, beneficial to all and ensures both human dignity and shared prosperity,” Pope Francis wrote in a message to participants in the Italian foreign ministry’s annual Rome MED Dialogues.

Migrants sit on deck of the NGO rescue ship Ocean Viking in the Mediterranean Sea Nov. 6, 2022. Pope Francis said governments cannot and should not try to stop migration over the Mediterranean, but they must find better, more coordinated ways to handle the movement of people. (CNS photo/Camille Martin Juan/Sos Mediterranee/handout via Reuters)

The lack of coordinated solutions to help potential migrants thrive in their home countries and to welcome those who set off for Europe “continues to result in unacceptable and almost always avoidable loss of life, especially in the Mediterranean,” the pope wrote.

The meeting Dec. 1-3 brought together representatives of the European Union and European countries on the Mediterranean with representatives from the Middle Eastern and North African nations that face the sea and that often are crossed by migrants and refugees seeking a better life in Europe.

For millennia, the Mediterranean was a crossroads of civilizations and cultures and a place of encounter that benefited all humanity, the pope said. It has “a vocation for progress, development and culture that unfortunately seems to have been lost in the recent past and that needs to be recovered fully and with conviction.”

Natural or human-made borders that delineate the boundaries of a nation or continent also mark a point of connection and potential exchange, which is almost impossible to prevent, he said. And, besides, simply attempting to close borders would end the sea’s history as “a place of encounter, exchange, sharing and collaboration.”

“It is precisely in this crossroads of humanity that so many opportunities await us,” the pope insisted. “Therefore, we must resume the culture of encounter from which we have benefited so much, and not only in the past. In this way, a sense of fraternity can be rebuilt, developing not only more just economic relations but also more humane relations, including those with migrants.”

As the government representatives and experts look at the complex problems surrounding migration and other issues around and across the Mediterranean, he said, they cannot ignore how interconnected the problems are, particularly regarding conflict, climate change, poverty and migration.

“Indeed,” he wrote, “the Ukrainian conflict is having enormous repercussions in North African countries, which are 80% dependent on grain from Ukraine or Russia. This crisis urges us to consider the totality of the real situation from a global perspective, just as the effects are global.”

“Just as one cannot think of addressing the energy crisis apart from the political one, one cannot at the same time solve the food crisis apart from the persistence of conflicts, or the climate crisis without considering the migration problem, or the relief of the most fragile economies, or even the protection of fundamental freedoms,” he said.

“Nor can one consider the vastness of human suffering,” he wrote, “without taking into account the social crisis, in which, for economic or political gain, the value of the human person is diminished and human rights are trampled upon.”

Read More Immigration & Migratiion

ICE

ICE deports Iowa parishioner to Guatemala homeland as supporters pray for his release

Miami clergy raise concerns as Trump tours Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

Faith-based refugee centers in Rome provide a lifeline to newcomers

USCCB, Catholic Charities among 200 NGOs in House probe on migrant aid

Amid unrest in LA over ICE raids, faithful urged to pray for peace in streets, city

As chaotic demonstrations erupt across U.S., Catholic experts counsel nonviolence

Copyright © 2022 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Cindy Wooden

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • 3 North Americans named to Vatican dicasteries for ecumenism, interreligious dialogue

  • Archbishop Lori announces clergy appointments, including pastor and associate pastors

  • St. Mary’s purchases former Annapolis Area Christian School

  • DUAL ENROLLMENT Double the learning: Dual enrollment provides college credit to high school students

  • superman Movie Review: Superman

| Latest Local News |

Archbishop Lori announces clergy appointments, including pastor and associate pastors

DUAL ENROLLMENT

Double the learning: Dual enrollment provides college credit to high school students

St. Mary’s purchases former Annapolis Area Christian School

Radio Interview: Exploring the Nicene Creed – Part Two

St. Clement Mary Hofbauer adapts to times, cultures as it celebrates 100th anniversary

| Latest World News |

Judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order as part of class action lawsuit

Ukraine religious leaders issue ‘desperate cry’ to world to end Russia’s war

care of creation

Pope Leo wears Chicago-made vestments to July 9 ‘care of creation’ Mass

sorry baby

Movie Review: Sorry, Baby

ICE

ICE deports Iowa parishioner to Guatemala homeland as supporters pray for his release

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Expert discusses serious harms of smartphones for children and how to limit their use
  • Movie Review: Superman
  • Judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order as part of class action lawsuit
  • Ukraine religious leaders issue ‘desperate cry’ to world to end Russia’s war
  • Pope Leo wears Chicago-made vestments to July 9 ‘care of creation’ Mass
  • Movie Review: Sorry, Baby
  • ICE deports Iowa parishioner to Guatemala homeland as supporters pray for his release
  • Come away and rest awhile
  • French woman hopes sharing mystical encounter with Minnesota Benedictine helps sainthood cause

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en