Tunde Sulaiman 
Pope Francis condemned, yesterday, efforts to repel migrants and block their routes as a “grave sin”, as he recalled those who lost their lives, including those “abandoned” in the desert.
The 87-year-old regularly calls for more empathy for people fleeing conflict, poverty, disasters or persecution, particularly those seeking to reach Europe from Africa across the Mediterranean Sea.
He dedicated his address at his weekly audience yesterday to the subject, warning against “restrictive laws” and the “militarization of borders” and calling for safe migration routes, reports AFP.
“It must be said clearly: there are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants.
And this, when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin,” he said.
He repeated that the Mediterranean — where more than 3,000 migrants went missing last year, according to UN figures — has become a “cemetery”.
