Pope Francis to visit Greece to show support for refugees on Lesbos

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Nice to be led by Francis who doesn’t use phrases such as “Islamic invasion”.
 
It would be nice if he simply went there unannounced. This way I’m afraid there’s too much of a chance of it turning into a well planned photo op. Hope he talks to local residents while he’s there.
 
Seamus_L said:
It would be nice if he simply went there unannounced. This way I’m afraid there’s too much of a chance of it turning into a well planned photo op. Hope he talks to local residents while he’s there.
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You believe that the Holy Father plans “photo ops”?

It’s clear how Francis stands on the question of the refugees.
 
Well the media will certainly know about it, and they’ve been known to manipulate the occasional news story 😃
 
Seamus_L said:
Well the media will certainly know about it, and they’ve been known to manipulate the occasional news story 😃
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I guess it depends on what you mean by “manipulate”.

The Pope has been clear in recommending that european nations welcome the Syrian refugees.
 
Those Greek islands like Lesbos, Kos, and others have seen mobs of military age men brawling in the streets, throwing missiles at police, destroying private property, breaking into homes, and making local residents fear for there safety. So if instead of that we see the Pope meeting with crying women and children who tell us they just want a chance to live in safety, then I’d say we’re not seeing the whole picture.
 
Seamus_L said:
Those Greek islands like Lesbos, Kos, and others have seen mobs of military age men brawling in the streets, throwing missiles at police, destroying private property, breaking into homes, and making local residents fear for there safety. So if instead of that we see the Pope meeting with crying women and children who tell us they just want a chance to live in safety, then I’d say we’re not seeing the whole picture.
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As a faithful Catholic I will follow the Pope’s lead and listen to his message.

I would venture to say that the Pope is well aware of the complexities of this situation and yet he calls for nations to welcome the refugees.
 
Background on the diplomacy involved.

Pope Francis skips many niceties in announcing a visit to Lesbos
If you imagine that such a trip would be easy to arrange, you’d be badly mistaken. For historic reasons, the Orthodox Church of Greece is ultra-sensitive in its dealings with the Vatican, and even has its problems with the Istanbul-based Patriarchate which is its own ultimate spiritual overlord. When John Paul II visited Athens in 2001, it was one of his hardest foreign trips; he was grudgingly received by the then Archbishop of Athens, Christodoulos, who gave him a public scolding over the sacking of Constantinople in 1204 by Latin soldiers, for which the pontiff apologised.
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Meanwhile the current Archbishop of Athens, Ieronymos, has problems with the Patriarch (currently undergoing a flare-up) because of administrative squabbles over Greek territory. Parts of Greece, like Rhodes, are under the Patriarch’s direct authority, other parts undisputedly under the archbishop. There is a third category of places, including northern Greece and Lesbos, which are ceremonially under the Patriarch but where the archdiocese of Athens claims de facto control. Last month the Patriarch and his episcopal advisers sent a pastoral letter for circulation in those places but the Athens hierarchy blocked it. Hence the Athenian bishops are extra-keen to stress that the Patriarch is coming to Lesbos at their suggestion, not off his own bat.
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Seamus_L said:
Those Greek islands like Lesbos, Kos, and others have seen mobs of military age men brawling in the streets, throwing missiles at police, destroying private property, breaking into homes, and making local residents fear for there safety. So if instead of that we see the Pope meeting with crying women and children who tell us they just want a chance to live in safety, then I’d say we’re not seeing the whole picture.
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Yes and their livelihoods based on tourism have been shattered by the arrival of these so called refugees. A problem with emotion led morals is people tend to ignore the emotions which contradict the moral position they have accepted.

Emotions trump reason and to avoid emotions conflicting, one set of emotions need to be ignored and the other played up. It is not a good base in deciding what is good, especially when you believe you have the right, through government to take other people’s money to support your morality and punish those who will not accept your new morality.

The new morality will not last.
 
Ojo_Feliz said:
Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican, with three refugee families accompanying him. Greek and Italian authorities have agreed to the arrangement, by which the Sant’Egidio Community would look after the families.

press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2016/04/16/160416e.html

I guess this is in addition to the two refugee families already living in Vatican City.
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Regarding the new refugees:
Lombardi: 12 Syrians (3 families) including 6 minors. All Muslim. They already had permission to come to Italy
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twitter.com/cindy_wooden/status/721312551754141696
 
Thank you for those updates.

BBC news report 2 hours ago. "You are not alone " says Pope Francis to those in the detention camp.
Hear more, and see the tearful little girl receiving a blessing from Pope Francis.
bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36060360

Some good will come from the visit.
 
Why Muslims? Surely there were Christians that could have been taken? Surely you should take care of your own family first?
 
GraceSofia said:
Why Muslims? Surely there were Christians that could have been taken? Surely you should take care of your own family first?
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When suffering is the same there should be no priority.

Apart from that, due to political sensitivities and other issues the Pope is restricted in selecting which refugees, and the number of them he can offer shelter too
 
What, he’s restricted to giving preferential treatment to Muslims when Christians are being exterminated out of their homelands in the Middle East? Since when have popes become politically correct? Jesus said to take care of your own household.
 
GraceSofia said:
What, he’s restricted to giving preferential treatment to Muslims when Christians are being exterminated out of their homelands in the Middle East? Since when have popes become politically correct? Jesus said to take care of your own household.
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No kidding. He couldn’t find 12 Christian refugees?
 
GraceSofia said:
What, he’s restricted to giving preferential treatment to Muslims when Christians are being exterminated out of their homelands in the Middle East? Since when have popes become politically correct? Jesus said to take care of your own household.
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Pope Francis didn’t go to Greece to speak about the suffering and persecution of Christians in the Middle East and other places, he has spoken about them on many other occasions.

The purpose of the visit to the refugee camp was an effort to draw attention to the misery of all those detained there, not to enquire about who was Muslim and who was Christian.
I completely reject the idea that the Pope is giving preferential treatment to Muslims, he was apparently introduced to the situation of those three families who had the necessary identity documents required that permitted them to travel to Italy immediately.

That’s what I meant by restriction. The Pope has influence, which he applies so well with sincere messages of compassion, hope and peace, but he is limited in what he can achieve, he doesn’t have power and authority over government regulations in other countries.
 
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