Pope Francis: Migrants an opportunity for dialogue among cultures

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis over the weekend sent his support to an event taking place in the Italian Diocese of Ugento-S. Maria di Leuca called “Mediterranean: A Sea of Bridges,” which brought together young people from Europe and the countries bordering the Mediterranean to create a Charter which would help stop the Mediterranean from being a “sea of death.”

In a message sent through the Secretary of State, Pope Francis express his wish that the event “enkindle a renewed commitment to promoting a culture of hospitality and solidarity, and thus promote peace and fraternity among peoples.”

The message went on to say the Holy Father encouraged the participants at the meeting to “consider the presence of so many brothers and sisters who are migrants to be an opportunity of human growth, of meeting and dialogue among cultures and religions, and also even an occasion to witness to the Gospel of Charity.”

The meeting, which concluded on Sunday, issued the Charter of Leuca, which pledged the participants’ willingness “to preserve, to reconstruct, and to bring together the bridges linking the countries of the Mediterranean.”