Pope Francis on Sunday
expressed his sorrow for the
plight of refugees and mi-
grants fleeing war and asked
the faithful to pray for them.
“I am saddened by the news of so
many displaced people, so many
men, women and children who are
discarded by war,” he said during the
Angelus in St. Peter’s Square.
He said his thoughts go to the
hundreds of thousands of migrants
seeking refuge and help throughout
the world, and noting that there is
much in the news about them in
these days, the Pope said: “Let us
pray for them.”
Pope Francis’ appeal for prayers
comes as hundreds of migrants are
reportedly headed through perme-
able borders to Greece from Turkey,
and thousands more are gathered
on the Turkish side seeking entry
after Ankara relaxed curbs on their
movement.
At least 500 people had arrived by
sea on three Greek islands close to
the Turkish coast within a few hours
on Sunday morning.
On the mainland further north,
groups waded across a river to the
Greek side. Reuters reporters said
they included an Afghan mother
with a five-day-old infant.
Turkey said on Thursday it would
no longer restrain hundreds of thou-
sands of asylum seekers in its terri-
tory from reaching Europe despite
an agreement to do so reached with
the EU in 2016. Its announcement
triggered an almost instant rush to
the borders it shares with European
Union member Greece.
