Francis Pope in Lampedusa: “A historic day characterized by simplicity and familiarity”, said the president of the Fondazione Mediterraneo Michele Capasso, returned to the island a few days after the conclusion of “Laboratories Mediterranean” organized by the Italian Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures.
Before going down on the dock of Lampedusa , the Pope placed in the sea a wreath to remember the migrants died at sea. Papa Francesco opened so his first visit to the island, where they expected a crowd of 10 thousand people. It was precisely the news of migrants died at sea, those boats that instead of being a way of hope have been a way of death to have it pushed to choose Lampedusa as a goal of his first visit. The purpose, as pointed out during the mass, is to awaken our consciences so that what happened will not happen again. It is estimated that in the journeys of hope from Africa to Europe have lost their lives at least 25 thousand people in the last 20 years.
“The Pope - said the president Capasso - has opened a gash over indifference, or rather on the ‘globalization of indifference’ as he called himself, recalling the conscience of all of us to take an active role in the responsibility of solidarity and policy choices in terms of reception, integration and coexistence”.
Fondazione Mediterraneo, with its Civil Society networks, decided to respect the engagement assumed in 2011 with the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly: to realize the “Totem of Peace” dedicated to “Unknown Migrant”, as a promise to Francis Pope in order to contrast the indifference that affects the whole world and as love act towards our siblings dead in the sea”.