Pope Francis will visit a refugee camp in Greece, along with church leaders from Orthodox churches.
MORIA, Greece — Municipal crews washed down streets with pressure hoses, pruned trees and tidied up building facades on the Greek island of Lesbos on Friday, a day before a visit by Pope Francis that rights groups hope will highlight the plight of refugees who fled war-torn homelands only to be denied entry to Europe.
The Vatican insists Francis’ five-hour visit is purely humanitarian and religious in nature and isn’t a direct criticism of the European Union’s new deportation plan. But the image of Francis meeting with refugees slated for deportation will bring the controversy back to the world’s attention.
Francis will be joined by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians.
The head of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Athens Archbishop Ieronymos II, arrived in Lesbos on Friday ahead of Francis’ visit. He said the ecumenical mission had one aim: “To take the problem we have been dealing with for so long and make it an international issue – to be not just a problem for Greeks, but for Europe and for all humanity.”
The three religious leaders will visit a camp on Lesbos where 2,300 people are being detained for deportation to Turkey under an agreement between Ankara and the EU to ease the flow of migrants into Europe.
“The pope’s visit comes at a pivotal moment: Right as Europe is gearing up to send thousands of refugees back to Turkey, locking them up in the meantime in horrible conditions,” Gauri van Gulik, deputy Europe director at Amnesty International, told The Associated Press. “These are people who fled the horrors of Islamic State, the Taliban, bombings in Syria and more. They deserve Europe’s protection and care, and hopefully the pope can shed light on their plight.”
Hundreds of police took up positions Friday on Lesbos, including anti-terrorism officers, riot squads and plainclothes officers. They descended on the Moria detention camp where the religious leaders plan to meet 250 asylum-seekers Saturday, make a public address, and join some detainees for lunch.
Police set up a perimeter to block media access.
Lesbos’ mayor and island officials urged residents to welcome Francis when he visits the island’s main town of Mytilene – describing the trip as a blow to “racism, fanaticism and xenophobia.”
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