Pope Leo XIV has called on European leaders to rise to the ‘momentous challenge’ of handling migration as he visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, a major entry point for migrants from Africa, according to BBC. The pontiff urged Europe to help new arrivals integrate better and improve conditions in their home countries during a mass on the island, which receives tens of thousands of migrants a year.

Memorial and Message

The Pope began the trip with a visit to a cemetery on Lampedusa and prayed at the graves of migrants who had died while making the dangerous journey from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. He also stood at the ‘Door of Europe’ memorial for those who had perished attempting the crossing and spoke to a migrant family. ‘Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made,’ the Pope said.

Broader Migration Trends

His trip comes two weeks after the EU approved tougher migration rules that allow stricter border controls and broader detention powers, according to BBC. It marks a wider trend of governments hardening their stance on undocumented migration, with many, including the UK and Italy, adopting measures aimed at deterring it. More than 14. 000 people landed in Italy during the first half of the year, most of whom set off from Libya, according to the UN refugee agency. Nearly 60% of them arrived in Lampedusa.

Appeal to the US

Separately, the pontiff marked the 250th anniversary of US independence with an appeal to Americans to welcome and protect immigrants, according to DW. In a letter sent to his home country, he said the Catholic value of defending life includes ‘welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants.’ ‘To receive (immigrants) with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person,’ he wrote. It comes a day after he described how ‘successive waves of immigrants’ played a role in building the United States. In a video address to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, he said the word ‘America’ is a ‘byword for freedom’ globally due to the way the country has taken in immigrants.