Vatican City: Pope Francis thanked aid groups that rescue and care for migrants on Friday and denounced the "sterile hypocrisy" of those who turn a blind eye to the world's poor seeking security and a dignified life.
Francis celebrated a special Mass for migrants and those who care for them in St. Peter's Basilica, calling attention to their plight as Europe, the US and other countries increasingly close their doors, ports and borders to them.
The intimate service marked the fifth anniversary of Francis' landmark visit to Lampedusa, the Sicilian island that for years was the
primary destination of migrants smuggled from Libya to Europe.
During that trip, Francis' first outside Rome after his 2013 election, the new pope denounced the "globalisation of indifference" that the world showed migrants fleeing war, poverty and climate-induced natural disasters.
In the years since, and especially in recent months, governments in Italy, the US, Hungary and elsewhere have adopted tough anti-migrant policies that fly in the face of Francis' oft-repeated call for governments to open their hearts and doors to those in need.
Italy and Malta, in particular, have closed their ports to aid groups that rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, while the Trump administration imposed a now-abandoned policy to separate children from their parents at the US-Mexico border.
Francis didn't refer to any country by name in his homily, but he said the only "reasonable response" to the global migration phenomenon on Friday is to show solidarity and
mercy.