MORIA // Pope Francis gave Europe a concrete lesson on Saturday in how to welcome refugees by bringing 12 Syrian Muslims to Italy aboard his charter plane after an emotional visit to the Greek island of Lesbos.
Refugees on the overwhelmed island, which has faced the brunt of Europe's migration crisis, fell to their knees and wept at his presence.
The Vatican said Pope Francis wanted to make a "gesture of welcome" at the end of his five-hour visit to Lesbos, where he implored Europe to respond to the refugee crisis on its shores "in a way that is worthy of our common humanity."
The Greek island just a few miles from the Turkish coast has seen hundreds of thousands of desperate people land on its beaches and rocks in the last year, fleeing war and poverty at home.
"Today I renew my heartfelt plea for responsibility and solidarity in the face of this tragic situation," Pope Francis said.
The pope visited Lesbos alongside the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians and the head of the Church of Greece to thank the Greek people for their welcome and highlight the plight of refugees as the European Union implements a controversial plan to deport them back to Turkey.
Many refugees wept at the pontiff's feet as he and the two Orthodox leaders approached them at the Moria refugee detention centre, where they greeted 250 people individually. Others chanted "Freedom! Freedom!" as the religious leaders passed by.
Pope Francis bent down as one young girl knelt at his feet, sobbing uncontrollably. Clearly moved, the pope also blessed a man who wailed "Thank you, God. Thank you! Please Father, bless me!".
A woman told the pope that her husband was in Germany but that she was stuck with her two sons in Lesbos.
The Vatican said the three Syrian families, including six children, who were taken back with the pope will be supported by the Holy See and cared for initially by Italy's Catholic Sant'Egidio Community, which for years has been active in providing assistance to refugees in Italy.
At a ceremony in the port of Lesbos to thank Greeks, Pope Francis said he understood Europe's concern about the refugee influx. But he said refugees are first of all human beings "who have faces, names and individual stories" and deserve to have their most basic human rights respected.
"God will repay this generosity," he said.
In his remarks to the refugees, Pope Francis said they should know that they are not alone and shouldn't lose hope. He said he wanted to visit them to hear their stories and to bring the world's attention to their plight.
"We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and indeed desperate need, and respond in a way worthy of our common humanity," he said. "May all our brothers and sisters on this continent, like the Good Samaritan, come to your aid in the spirit of fraternity, solidarity and respect for human dignity that has distinguished its long history."
Human rights groups have denounced the EU-Turkey deportation pact as an abdication of Europe's obligation to grant protection to asylum-seekers.
The deal stipulates that anyone arriving clandestinely on Greek islands on or after March 20 will be returned to Turkey unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece.
For every Syrian sent back, the EU will take another Syrian directly from Turkey for resettlement in Europe. In return, Turkey was granted billions of euros to deal with the more than 2.7 million Syrian refugees living there and promised that its stalled accession talks with the EU would speed up.
Making sure not to violate the deal, the Vatican said the 12 Syrians coming to Italy with the pope had been in Lesbos prior to March 20, and thus were not subject to possible deportation.
* Associated Press
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