BRINDISI, June 15 – In a trip to southern Italy, Pope Benedict urged Italians to show solidarity with the poor and suffering who come to their shores seeking a better life.
Hundreds of thousands of Albanian immigrants have been living in neighboring Italy since 1990.
“In recent years, newspapers and television have shown us pictures of refugees landing in Brindisi from Croatia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia,” he told a crowd in Brindisi, thanking the city for its generosity towards them.
Immigration was one of the hottest political topics in an April general election which was won by conservative Silvio Berlusconi whose allies include the anti-immigrant Northern League and the right-wing National Alliance party.
The Church has expressed concerns about a crackdown on immigration which includes new legislation that would make illegal immigration a crime punishable with jail time. (Tirana Times Staff)
Pope urges compassion for immigrants at Brindisi
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