Pope to visit Greek island
Religious leaders hope to highlight refugees’ plight
Vatican City — Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, will visit the Greek island of Lesbos next week to highlight the plight of refugees, the Greek government said, as refugees and other migrants are being deported back to Turkey under the European Union’s controversial program to ease Europe’smigrant problem.
Under the EU’s deal with Turkey reached last month, those arriving on Greek islands from March 20 onward who do not apply for asylum in Greece or whose application is rejected or deemed inadmissible will be deported back to Turkey. For every Syrian returned to Turkey, another Syrian there will be relocated to a European country.
But after the initial return of 202 people Monday from the islands of Lesbos and Chios, most of the roughly 4,000 people earmarked for deportation were submitting asylum applications, leading to delays in the system.
No deportations were carried out Tuesday, and a Turkish interior ministry official said no further returns were expected until Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
Francis, the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina, has been outspoken about Europe’s moral obligation to welcome refugees and his visit to Greece will likely embarrass EU leaders already under fire from human rights groups over the deportations.
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, the decision-making body of the Greek church, said Francis had asked to come to highlight the plight of refugees. It said the request had been accepted and the island of Lesbos suggested, adding it had also extended an invitation to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, to visit the island on the same day.
The Greek government issued a note saying the pope and patriarch would be visiting Lesbos on April14-15 along with Athens Archbishop Ieronymos, and that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would join them.
Francis has made the plight of migrants a priority of his three-year pontificate, insisting in particular that Europe and other countries open their doors and hearts to people fleeing persecution and poverty.
He told the Vatican’s diplomatic corps in January that Europe had the means to welcome refugees without compromising its security or culture and that the continent bore the “moral responsibility” to care for others who have fled their homes to seek a better life.
Europe’s deal with Turkey has come under fierce criticism from human rights groups and aid organizations, who accuse European countries of ignoring their commitments to protect vulnerable refugees.