via the Vatican:

Today’s migratory routes are often marked by crossings of seas and deserts, which for many, too many people — too many! — are deadly. Therefore, today I want to dwell on this tragedy, this pain. Some of these routes we know well, because they are often in the spotlight; others, the majority, are little known, but no less travelled….

And the tragedy is that many, the majority of these deaths, could have been prevented. It must be said clearly: there are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants — to repel migrants. And this, when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin. Let us not forget what the Bible says: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him” (Ex 22:21). The orphan, the widow and the stranger are the quintessential poor whom God always defends and asks to be defended….

Dear brothers and sisters, let us join our hearts and forces, so that the seas and deserts are not cemeteries, but spaces where God may open up roads to freedom and fraternity.