Pope: Migration essential for the Mediterranean’s well-being

By Vatican news staff writer

Pope Francis addressed participants at the 8th Rome MED Dialogues Conference underway in Rome until Dec. 3, which brings together political-institutional representatives, analysts, social, economic, and media figures to discuss some of the key issues for the Mediterranean.

In his address, the Pope said the inability to find common solutions to human mobility continues to result in unacceptable and almost always avoidable loss of life, especially in the Mediterranean.

Cooperation for the benefit of all was also highlighted in his speech, where the Pope reiterated that “no one is saved alone;” therefore, "the interconnectedness of the issues requires that they be examined together, in a coordinated vision that is as broad as possible."

The war in Ukraine and its global effects

The Pope continued his address by using the example of the war between Russia and Ukraine as representative of the globalization of problems today.

Due to the "incalculable damage” caused by the war, every global aspect was affected, including victims from both the military and civilian sides, the energy crisis, the financial crisis, the humanitarian crisis, and the food crisis, the latter extended also to poorer countries, such as those in North Africa, "which depend on 80 percent of their grain from Ukraine or Russia."

Therefore, the globality of the effects of the crisis makes it clear, the Pope continued, that the situation must be approached from a global perspective; no single crisis can be resolved apart from the others, "nor can the vastness of human suffering be considered 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."

Addressing individual issues in a "sectoral way," the Pope said, "entails the risk of arriving at partial, flawed solutions that not only do not solve problems but make them chronic."

The vocation of Mare nostrum

The Mare nostrum, the Pope suggested, must utilize that "vocation of progress, development and culture."

Its potential connects three continents, "a connection that historically, also through migration, has been greatly fruitful."

Today, Pope Francis lamented that the same sea " is struggling to be a place of encounter, exchange, sharing and collaboration," despite being at the crossroads of humanity and the bearer of so many opportunities.

The recommendation, therefore, is to "resume the culture of encounter" in order to rebuild a “sense of fraternity”, developing “not only more just economic relations but also more humane relations, including those with migrants.”