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| Pope attacks 'globalisation of indifference' in Lampedusa visit | Pope attacks 'globalisation of indifference' in Lampedusa visit |
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| In his first visit outside Rome since becoming pope, Francis visited recently arrived migrants on the island of Lampedusa on Monday, lambasting the rich world for its lack of concern for their suffering and inveighing against a "globalisation of indifference". | In his first visit outside Rome since becoming pope, Francis visited recently arrived migrants on the island of Lampedusa on Monday, lambasting the rich world for its lack of concern for their suffering and inveighing against a "globalisation of indifference". |
| "We have become used to the suffering of others. It doesn't affect us. It doesn't interest us. It's not our business," he said. | "We have become used to the suffering of others. It doesn't affect us. It doesn't interest us. It's not our business," he said. |
| Lampedusa, which covers an area of less than eight square miles, is the southernmost part of Italy. Over the past 10 years it has become the point of entry into the EU for tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers. | |
| Wearing vestments of penitential purple, Francis said he had decided to come to the island after learning of a recent incident in which migrants had died while attempting the crossing from north Africa. The thought of their suffering had come back to him repeatedly like "a thorn in the heart", he said. | Wearing vestments of penitential purple, Francis said he had decided to come to the island after learning of a recent incident in which migrants had died while attempting the crossing from north Africa. The thought of their suffering had come back to him repeatedly like "a thorn in the heart", he said. |
| As his plane landed, more than 160 Eritreans were coming ashore in the port, the latest of almost 8,000 arrivals on Italy's southern coasts so far this year, according to UN figures. Another 40 are known to have died trying to reach Europe. | As his plane landed, more than 160 Eritreans were coming ashore in the port, the latest of almost 8,000 arrivals on Italy's southern coasts so far this year, according to UN figures. Another 40 are known to have died trying to reach Europe. |
| The pope celebrated mass within sight of the so-called graveyard of wrecks, where fishing boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers end up after they drift ashore, their engines often having broken down at sea. | The pope celebrated mass within sight of the so-called graveyard of wrecks, where fishing boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers end up after they drift ashore, their engines often having broken down at sea. |
| He asked for "pardon for those who are complacent and closed amid comforts which have deadened their hearts" and "forgiveness for those who by their decisions at the global level have created situations that lead to these tragedies". | He asked for "pardon for those who are complacent and closed amid comforts which have deadened their hearts" and "forgiveness for those who by their decisions at the global level have created situations that lead to these tragedies". |
| That was the only allusion to politics in an address that nevertheless – like much of what Francis has said and done since his election – posed a problem for the Italian right. Though loud in their protestations of respect for Catholic doctrine, the followers of Silvio Berlusconi and the Northern League backed a deal with the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi that involved repelling seaborne migrants before they had a chance to apply for asylum. | That was the only allusion to politics in an address that nevertheless – like much of what Francis has said and done since his election – posed a problem for the Italian right. Though loud in their protestations of respect for Catholic doctrine, the followers of Silvio Berlusconi and the Northern League backed a deal with the late Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi that involved repelling seaborne migrants before they had a chance to apply for asylum. |
| The pope singled out for praise the Italian coastguards and revenue guards who have plucked thousands to safety, and the Lampedusans themselves. "You offered an example of solidarity," he told them. | The pope singled out for praise the Italian coastguards and revenue guards who have plucked thousands to safety, and the Lampedusans themselves. "You offered an example of solidarity," he told them. |
| Though their island – a treeless patch of Italy 70 miles off the African coast – has at times been turned into a refugee camp, most Lampedusans have reacted with generosity and tolerance towards the migrants. Most of their protests have been directed at the authorities' failure to provide them with sufficient resources. | Though their island – a treeless patch of Italy 70 miles off the African coast – has at times been turned into a refugee camp, most Lampedusans have reacted with generosity and tolerance towards the migrants. Most of their protests have been directed at the authorities' failure to provide them with sufficient resources. |
| A banner draped along the pope's route read: "Welcome among the ultimi – a word in Italian that has connotations of both furthest and least. | A banner draped along the pope's route read: "Welcome among the ultimi – a word in Italian that has connotations of both furthest and least. |
| "It was not even thinkable that the pope would come to an Island like this one," resident Andrea Pavia, who came out with his tearful wife and daughter to watch the pope drive by, told the Associated Press. "I am so happy, I am so emotional. I just can't believe it." | "It was not even thinkable that the pope would come to an Island like this one," resident Andrea Pavia, who came out with his tearful wife and daughter to watch the pope drive by, told the Associated Press. "I am so happy, I am so emotional. I just can't believe it." |
| Local fishing boats accompanied the coastguard patrol boat that brought the pope from the airport to the port. Francis, an Argentinian whose own grandparents emigrated from Italy, cast a wreath of flowers in the papal colours of yellow and white on to the water in commemoration of those who have died. | Local fishing boats accompanied the coastguard patrol boat that brought the pope from the airport to the port. Francis, an Argentinian whose own grandparents emigrated from Italy, cast a wreath of flowers in the papal colours of yellow and white on to the water in commemoration of those who have died. |
| He disembarked at the quayside at which so many battered vessels packed with migrants have been tied up. There he shook hands with some recent arrivals and heard the account of an Eritrean who escaped from a military training camp. | He disembarked at the quayside at which so many battered vessels packed with migrants have been tied up. There he shook hands with some recent arrivals and heard the account of an Eritrean who escaped from a military training camp. |
| Francis was then driven to the site of his mass in an aged Fiat vehicle like a military Jeep, which he chose in preference to the glossy Mercedes Popemobile. | Francis was then driven to the site of his mass in an aged Fiat vehicle like a military Jeep, which he chose in preference to the glossy Mercedes Popemobile. |
| • This article was amended on 11 July 2013. The original version said incorrectly that Lampedusa is the southernmost point of the European Union. | |
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