TheCable

Pope Francis has criticised Europe’s refusal to let in new migrants, describing it as “suicide”.

The pontiff said this in his address to a group of refugees airlifted out of Lebanon under a Christian-sponsored “humanitarian corridors” project after a special service on Tiber Island in central Rome.

“This is called suicide”, he said on Saturday.

He praised the “generosity of people in migrant landing spots like Italy’s Lampedusa and Lesbos”, and hoped this “could rub off a little on the north”.

During his homily, Pope Francis recalled a meeting with a refugee during last year’s visit to a camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.

“I don’t know if that man is still in Lesbos or if he has managed to go somewhere else, I don’t know if he was able to leave that concentration camp, because many refugee camps are concentration camps due to overcrowding,” he said.

He also called for the commemoration of modern-day Christian martyrs, describing martyrs as “the living blood of the Church”.

The pope led the proceedings in St. Bartholomew Basilica wearing a crimson stola that once belonged to Ragheed Aziz Ganni, a Chaldean priest killed in Mosul, Iraq, in 2007.

Before Francis’ homily, friends and relatives of slain Christians – including the sister of Father Jacques Hamel, an 86-year-old French priest killed last year in an Islamist attack – spoke before a packed congregation.

The service was held in the run-up to Francis’ April 28-29 visit to Egypt, a country where Christians are under threat.

Earlier this month, at least 45 people were reportedly killed following an attack on two Coptic churches.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group.