Pope Leo XIV delivered a sharp warning about the human cost of mass migration this week, condemning the traffickers, criminal networks, and other actors he said profit from the suffering of migrants attempting dangerous journeys to Europe.
Speaking in the Canary Islands on June 11th, a major entry point for African migrants seeking to reach Europe, the American-born pontiff lamented the thousands who have died attempting the crossing to Europe.
“Monsters lurk in these seas,” Leo said.
“Mafias that profit from despair, traffickers who enslave women and children, and those whose indifference allows the poor to be swallowed up by exploitation or forgetfulness.”
The remarks came during a visit that included migrants who survived the often-fatal voyage from Africa.
Leo also called for stronger efforts to combat human trafficking and support victims, while urging governments to address the conditions that drive migration in the first place.
“The Christian view of human dignity demands legal and safe pathways, rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection for victims, serious processes of reception and integration, and policies that allow every person to live with dignity in their own land,” he said.
In a separate speech in Spain on June 12th, Leo encouraged migrants to integrate into the societies that receive them.
“Open yourselves with trust to the community that welcomes you, to learn its language, to respect its laws, to get to know its customs, to participate in communal life, and to offer your gifts with gratitude,” he said.
The pope also stressed that people should not be forced to leave their homelands in the first place.
“While there is a right to seek refuge when life is threatened, there is also the right not to have to migrate,” Leo said.
“We cannot grow accustomed to counting the dead.”
His comments mark another change in tone on the issue of immigration, having previously attacked the Trump administration for following through on its policy of mass deportations.
Speaking to students and faculty at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Cameroon last month, the pontiff urged younger generations to stay and build their own countries rather than seeking opportunities elsewhere.
“In the face of the understandable tendency to migrate, which may lead one to believe that elsewhere a better future may be more easily found, I invite you to respond with an ardent desire to serve your country and to apply the knowledge you are acquiring here to the benefit of your fellow citizens,” he said.
“The greatness of a nation cannot be measured solely by the abundance of its natural resources, nor even by the material wealth of its institutions.”
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