Photo credit: CTV News
Pope Francis has again advocated for travelling migrants, saying they may have been exploited and reduced to slavery in an attempt to seek a better life.
Business Day reports that the pope said, “Many lives are exploited, rejected, abused or reduced to slavery.”
He also stated that on most occasions, civil authorities have no answer for the migration phenomenon.
He stated this during a recent meeting with ResQ, an organization that supports migrants grabbing and landing across the Mediterranean.
Since 2014, about 31,000 migrants have gone missing whilst attempting to cross the Mediterranean. In 2023 alone, over 3,000 people were confirmed to have died while crossing the Mediterranean.
According to the Vatican, Pope Francis met with ResQ on December 11 and commended their activities in protecting migrants travelling the Mediterranean and Balkan routes.
ResQ has been rescuing people in sinking makeshift boats and supporting migrants arriving in Europe after difficult journeys.
