Pope Says Migrant Centers in Europe Like 'Concentration Camps'
Pope Francis has likened some of the migration centers in Europe to Nazi concentration camps.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church made the statement as he recalled the story of a Middle Eastern refugee he met in the island of Lesbos in Greece during a visit to a migrant camp years ago.
He said the man, a Muslim, was the father of three children who had to flee his family home in the Middle East because of persecution. He said the man's Christian wife was killed, her throat slit, for refusing to throw her crucifix on the ground. The man eventually reached Lesbos where he and other asylum seekers stayed in a migrant center in squalid condition.
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"I don't know if he managed to leave that concentration camp, because refugee camps, many of them, are of concentration [type] because of the great number of people left there inside them," said Francis.
The pontiff delivered a prayer service attended by migrants at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew in Rome to commemorate men and women who were victims of terrorism, Nazism and other totalitarian governments all over the world.
Pope Francis also spoke to some of the migrants after the liturgy service. While he praised the European nations' efforts in welcoming the refugees, the head of the Catholic Church also expressed frustration at some of the countries that have closed their doors on migrants.
"We live in a civilization that is not having children, but also closes its door to migrants: this is called suicide," said Francis. "It seems that international accords are more important than human rights."
Meanwhile, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) criticized Pope Francis for describing some of the migrant centers as "concentration camps."
"The conditions in which migrants are currently living in some European countries may well be difficult, and deserve still greater international attention, but concentration camps they certainly are not," said AJC Head David Harris in a statement.
He added that the Nazis' purpose in establishing concentration camps was "for slave labor and the extermination of millions of people" during wartime, and this could not be comparable to any other undertaking.
