VATICAN CITY-Pope Francis discussed the issue of immigrants with newly appointed ambassadors in a hearing held in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “One cannot limit oneself to reaching out to immigrants only during emergencies,” the pontiff said on Thursday.  

 “It is time to deal with immigration problems with a serious and responsible approach at a global, continental, and macro-regional level, without forgetting the national and local level,” continued Francis.

 According to the pope, the recent tragic events which occurred in the Mediterranean allowed us to witness “meaningful encounters of humanity, and warm welcome of people and families who were able to flee from inhuman conditions and found dignity, freedom and security,” as well as “stories that are sad and shameful; of people who suffer torturing and oppression of all kind, and then die in a desert or at the bottom of the sea.”

 Francis stresses that “it would be the greatest contradiction to talk about peace, negotiate peace and at the same time promote or allow the commerce of weapons.”

 “The phenomenon of forced migration is strictly connected to conflicts and wars, therefore, also proliferation of weapons, “ the Pope concluded. “There are injuries in a world that is ours, in which God placed us to live in, and it is a matter of being responsible for our sisters and brothers, because no human being should be deprived of his or her dignity.”