Pope Francis on Saturday condemned "belligerent nationalisms" and called for a pan-European response to migration to stop the Mediterranean, where thousands have drowned, from becoming "the graveyard of dignity". Francis spoke out in favour of welcoming migrants, in a long speech that concluded a Church conference on Mediterranean issues in Marseille, a French port that for centuries has been a crossroads of cultures and religions. Francis was welcomed at the windy portside where the conference centre is located by President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he was due to have a private meeting later on Saturday before returning to Rome.
Pope Francis said on Friday that migrants who risk drowning at sea "must be rescued," calling it "a duty of humanity, a duty of civilisation". Speaking at the start of a trip centred on migration issues in the Mediterranean, he said that impeding such rescues is "a gesture of hate". He spoke at an inter-religious prayer service at a monument dedicated in the port city of Marseille to those lost at sea.
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