“From this remote corner of Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea, we can better understand the profound challenge that the phenomenon of migration poses to European societies,” the Supreme Pontiff asserted in his homily.

“Faced with the depths of the human heart and the horrors of war, only mercy can respond with new beginnings,” he said, reaffirming that “the civilization of love is not born of a single spectacular gesture, but of a sum of small yet steadfast acts of loyalty that serve as a barrier against dehumanization.”

“Not everyone has the same power to influence reality. Yet, no one is exempt from responsibility,” he stated, adding that “we are called to choose between fostering the logic of force—even if only through indifference, cynicism, lies, and hatred—or upholding the logic of peace through truth, sobriety, closeness, and care.”

He addressed the ongoing tragedy faced by thousands of people forced to migrate due to war, extreme poverty, and severe natural disasters that drive them from their homes—many of whom lose their lives on perilous journeys—and he specifically highlighted those who have perished in the Mediterranean Sea in recent years.

“Those who have died in this sea are victims both of decisions made and of decisions left untaken,” as well as of “disregard for the common good and corruption in their places of origin, a global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion, and the fear that fuels prejudice and contempt,” he declared.

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