Pope Francis said, on Sunday, that he will go to “Marseille, not France” in September, noting that the trip will not be a state visit, and will be devoted to the immigration file.
In a press conference held on the plane during the return trip to Rome from Lisbon, where he celebrated the World Youth Days, the Pope said, “I have already been to Strasbourg (in 2014), I will go to Marseille (on September 22 and 23), not France,” stressing, however, that he did not No “problem” with France.
The 86-year-old Pope, who made the immigration file a major issue for his pontificate, stressed that “the problem that worries me is the Mediterranean problem, so I go to France. Exploiting immigrants is a crime.”
From September 18 to 24, the Archdiocese of Marseille organizes meetings on topics such as economic inequality, migration processes and climate change, in which the Pope is invited to meet bishops and youth.
The pontiff will preside over a Mass open to the public after a prayer in honor of the memory of the migrants lost at sea.
“On average, bishops hold this meeting to reflect on the tragedy of immigrants,” the Pope said.
And he stressed that “the Mediterranean is a cemetery, but it is not the largest: the largest cemetery in North Africa. It is terrible. So I will go to Marseille.”
“Last week, President Macron informed me that he intends to come,” added the pope, who will meet French President Emmanuel Macron on the afternoon of the twenty-third of September, before presiding over Mass at the Velodrome stadium.
And the Pope had previously announced that he would visit “Marseille, not France”, in remarks that caused confusion among a segment of the French Catholics.
When asked if he had “any problem with France,” the pope replied, “No.”
He continued, “It is a policy I follow. I visit the small European countries, and as for the big countries (Spain, France, England…) I leave them for later, until the end. I want to start with the small countries.”
Since his election in 2013, Jorge Bergoglio has made 42 foreign trips and visited 60 countries.
Despite his declining health condition, which now forces him to move around by wheelchair, the Pope still makes foreign trips and will go to Mongolia in early September.
In recent interviews, the Pope mentioned plans to travel to Argentina and Kosovo, without specifying any dates.
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2023-08-07 11:42:58
