2016-06-30 17:41:00

Card. Vegliò mourns migrant deaths that must serve as wake-up call


(Vatican Radio) Ten women died in a sinking boat packed with forced migrants off the coast of Libya on Thursday, while hundreds of others were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard in two separate operations.

Listen to the report by Christopher Wells:

The latest deaths at sea came as the wreck of a fishing boat that sank last year with up to 800 people on board was due to arrive at a Sicilian port. The sunken wreck was raised on Wednesday.

Nearly 120 bodies have already been recovered from the seabed but hundreds more are  believed to be trapped below deck, where survivors said many women and children were locked. 

Speaking to Vatican Radio Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò, President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant peoples decried the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean and said unfortunately it will not be the last…

Unfortunately, he said, there are still people who continue to not want to tackle the phenomenon of migration, they do not want to have to deal with migrants...

And commenting on the fact that the people who are dying in the Mediterranean are people who leave everything and put their lives at risk in pursuit of safety and a dignified future, the Cardinal said he hopes this tragedy will move consciences and that it may speak to European policymakers who are called to respond to the challenge urgently.








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