After 46 migrants were discovered dead in a Texas trailer truck on Monday, Pope Francis has requested Christians to pray.
“I sorrowfully heard the news of the tragedy of the #migrants in Texas and #Melilla,” the pope said in a social media post on June 28.
“Let us #PrayTogether for these brothers and sisters who died following their hope of a better life; and for ourselves, may the Lord might open our hearts so these misfortunes never happen again.”
On the evening of June 27, the migrants were discovered dead in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas. According to the Associated Press, sixteen other people were hospitalized, including four children.
I sorrowfully heard the news of the tragedy of the #migrants in Texas and #Melilla. Let us #PrayTogether for these brothers and sisters who died following their hope of a better life; and for ourselves, may the Lord might open our hearts so these misfortunes never happen again.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 28, 2022
The pope also called for prayers for migrants who died last week while attempting to cross the Moroccan-Spanish border.
According to Moroccan authorities, 23 people were killed in a stampede on June 24 when migrants attempted to breach a fence into the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla.
In response to the migrant deaths in Melilla, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) released a statement.
“The EU and its member states’ management of migration cannot consist in giving a blank check to neighboring countries that don’t respect the inalienable dignity of migrants and refugees,” it said.
“COMECE also condemns the use of violence by people trying to cross borders and calls for a proportionate use of force by law enforcement agents and the absolute respect of the human dignity and the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees, as well as the facilitation of an appropriate screening of persons that are legitimate asylum seekers.”