Pope Francis asks for prayers after 46 migrants found dead in Texas truck trailer

Vatican City, Jun 28, 2022 / 05:55 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has asked people to pray after 46 migrants were found dead in a Texas trailer truck on Monday.

“I sorrowfully heard the news of the tragedy of the #migrants in Texas and #Melilla,” the pope said in a social media post on June 28.

“Let us #PrayTogether for these brothers and sisters who died following their hope of a better life; and for ourselves, may the Lord might open our hearts so these misfortunes never happen again.”

The migrants were found dead in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas on the evening of June 27. Sixteen other people were hospitalized, including four children, according to the Associated Press.

The pope also asked for prayers for migrants who died last week attempting to cross the border between Morocco and Spain.

Moroccan authorities have reported that 23 people died on June 24 in a stampede as migrants attempted to breach a fence into the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla.

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) also issued a statement in response to the migrant deaths in Melilla.

“The EU and its member states’ management of migration cannot consist in giving a blank check to neighboring countries that don’t respect the inalienable dignity of migrants and refugees,” it said.

“COMECE also condemns the use of violence by people trying to cross borders and calls for a proportionate use of force by law enforcement agents and the absolute respect of the human dignity and the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees, as well as the facilitation of an appropriate screening of persons that are legitimate asylum seekers.”