Pope condemns ‘indifference’ towards migrants on Canaries trip

ARGUINEGUIN: Pope Leo XIV on Thursday condemned “indifference” towards migrants during a visit to a port in Spain’s Canary Islands that symbolised the perils of deadly irregular routes to Europe.

The pontiff cast a floral wreath into the sea in tribute to the thousands who have died trying to reach the Atlantic archipelago, on day six of a trip to Spain that has repeatedly highlighted the plight of migrants.

Leo visited the formerly notorious port of Arguineguin on Gran Canaria island, meeting migrants and those who help them before blessing a cross made from the wood of migrant boats.

“Even today, monsters lurk in these seas: mafias that profit from despair, traffickers who enslave women and children, and those whose indifference allows the poor to be swallowed up by exploitation or forgetfulness,” Leo told a ceremony at Arguineguin.

Nearly 1,200 people died or went missing on the route from Africa to the Canary Islands last year, according to the International Organization for Migration, making it one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.

Europe, where governments have toughened their policies in recent years under pressure from the far right, “cannot claim to uphold human dignity while growing accustomed to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic becoming unmarked graves”, added Leo.

The pope said the tragedy must also “appeal to the conscience” of nations of origin and transit where migrants flee poverty and conflict and fall prey to trafficking gangs.

“You are not just numbers or files. You are people who have left behind families and homes. You have dreams that no one has the right to despise,” Leo added in a direct message to migrants.

The audience heard the testimony of a Nigerian woman who fell victim to traffickers and was not at the ceremony for safety reasons.

“I had to choose: live in suffering, or cross and risk it all. Die trying, or stay and not have anything,” said the woman, who was forced into prostitution in Spain and had her baby snatched from her.

‘Dock of shame’

Arguineguin became known as the “dock of shame” after more than 3,000 migrants slept there in the open or under makeshift shelters during a surge in arrivals in 2020.

More than 46,000 people reached the Canaries in 2024, a record year, often in packed, unseaworthy boats. Numbers have since dropped.

Leo’s predecessor Francis, also a fervent defender of migrants, died a year ago without making a planned trip to the islands.

Mohamed Amjahdi, who arrived in the Canaries from Morocco on a boat when he was 17, told AFP in Arguineguin the visit was “very important for us at such a critical moment”.

“We also appreciate the Catholic Church and the vital work it does for migrants,” added Amjahdi, 37, a member of the Spanish Islamic Commission.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re Christian or not, whether you’re white or black — everyone receives the same support.”

‘Beautiful’ message

Leo ended his schedule with a mass at a football stadium that stands next to a cemetery housing the graves of unidentified victims of the Atlantic route.

The pope asked the tens of thousands of worshippers to “pray… for the brothers and sisters who have lost their lives in the sea”.

For Raul Carpio Perez, a 35-year-old Venezuelan immigrant at the mass, the pope’s message of “feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless is something very beautiful”.

Addressing the Spanish parliament on Monday, Leo called for “safe and legal pathways” for immigration and “a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration” for new arrivals.

His visit comes as Spain’s left-wing government has launched a scheme expected to regularise 500,000 undocumented migrants, bucking the wider trend.

The pope’s week-long trip to Spain, which has included stops in Madrid and Barcelona, concludes on Friday on the island of Tenerife, where he is to visit a migrant centre.