New pope goes on tour, riding a wave of excitement
(Washington Post) – Francis welcomed “the dear Muslim immigrants who are beginning the fast of Ramadan.” He called for more-humane treatment of immigrants regardless of faith and an end to the “globalization of indifference.”
On the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, the Rev. Stefano Nastasi threw the ecclesiastic equivalent of a Hail Mary pass.
Legions of largely Muslim refugees looking for a better life in Europe were reaching the island from North Africa only to perish, or to be turned back or sent to languish in camps. Troubled by their plight, the priest dispatched a letter to the Vatican: Would Pope Franciscome and highlight the humanitarian crisis in his new back yard?
When the answer finally came, Nastasi said he was as surprised as anyone: Why yes, in fact, the Holy Father would. In something of a trial run ahead of the first major trip of his papacy — a week-long visit to Brazil that begins Monday — Francis touched down on the island July 8 and behaved in a way that got observers buzzing about the rise of a revolutionary pope.
Only days earlier, Mercedes-Benz had presented Francis with a new bulletproof popemobile. But the first Latin American pontiff, who has largely rejected the lavish trappings of his office, traveled around the island in a borrowed, open-top Fiat. His predecessor’s words once sparked riots in predominantly Muslim countries. But from an impromptu altar made out of a rickety raft, Francis welcomed “the dear Muslim immigrants who are beginning the fast of Ramadan.” He called for more-humane treatment of immigrants regardless of faith and an end to the “globalization of indifference.”
“Who has wept for the deaths of these brothers and sisters?” he said, referring to seven refugees who recently drowned after fishermen failed to aid them near the island. “Who has wept for the people who were on the boat? For the young mothers carrying their babies? For these men who wanted something to support their families?”
