Pope Leo XIV: Migrants lost at sea are victims of choices made and unmade

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass Saturday on the island of Lampedusa, warning that migrants who have died crossing the Mediterranean are “victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made.”

In his homily at the Arena sports field July 4, the pope cited the Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan, saying residents of Lampedusa had seen “thousands of human beings fallen into the hands of robbers who have taken everything from them, beat them brutally and walked away, leaving them half-dead.”

“The sea has claimed the lives of others — those who did not manage to reach their hoped-for destination,” he said. “Yet we feel their presence, which challenges us no less than that of those who have landed in need of attention and aid.”

The pope arrived at the sports field in a Fiat Nuova Campagnola convertible, the same vehicle Pope Francis used during his July 8, 2013, visit to Lampedusa. The crowd greeted him with songs, waving arms, and yellow-and-white caps against the backdrop of the island’s sea and sky.

Before the liturgy, Lampedusa’s mayor presented the pope with a model of the island’s lighthouse. Pope Leo recalled Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of…