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(AP News)Catholics hope Pope Leo’s visit to Europe’s migration hot spots will ease political tensions

Release Date
2026-06-05
Media
AP News
Summary
Pope Leo XIV is placing migration at the center of his early papacy by visiting Spain’s Canary Islands in June and Italy’s Lampedusa in July, two of Europe’s main entry points for migrants and refugees from Africa. The visits are intended to highlight the human dimension of migration and encourage solidarity at a time when immigration remains one of the most divisive political issues in Europe.

The article highlights the story of Eslim Jallow, a migrant from Gambia who arrived in the Canary Islands in 2023. After learning Spanish and acquiring new skills, he successfully built a career as a programmer and web developer. Jallow hopes the pope’s visit will encourage people to view migrants with dignity and respect rather than prejudice, emphasizing that migrants are human beings rather than statistics.

The Catholic Church has maintained a strong commitment to migrant advocacy since the papacy of Pope Francis. Pope Leo XIV has continued this approach, calling for humane treatment of migrants and refugees. In the Canary Islands, where nearly 47,000 migrants arrived in 2024, church organizations play a significant role in providing emergency assistance, housing support, and integration services. Particular concern exists for unaccompanied migrant minors who lose state protection when they turn eighteen and often face unemployment and homelessness.

At the same time, local communities in the Canary Islands are experiencing increasing pressure on healthcare, social services, and public resources. Many residents feel that both the Spanish government and the European Union have left the islands to manage a disproportionate share of the migration challenge. This has contributed to growing public frustration, despite a long tradition of migration and cultural openness in the region.

The Catholic Church has also supported Spain’s recent regularization program, which could grant temporary legal status to more than 500,000 undocumented migrants. While supporters argue that migrants contribute significantly to sectors such as agriculture, hospitality, and eldercare, conservative and far-right political groups criticize the policy and warn of social and economic consequences. As a result, immigration has become a major source of tension between the Church and right-wing political movements.

Church leaders stress that welcoming migrants is consistent with Christian teachings, while also acknowledging the need for orderly and well-managed migration policies. They reject both anti-immigrant hostility and unlimited open-border approaches. Pope Leo’s visits are therefore seen as an effort to promote reconciliation, reminding Europeans that migration is ultimately about people and human dignity, not only politics and numbers.
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Europe

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