By Joshua McElwee
ARGUINEGUIN, Spain, June 11 (Reuters) - Pope Leo appealed to world leaders on Thursday to treat migrants more humanely, warning in a visit to Spain's Canary Islands, one of Europe's migration hotspots, that history would condemn those who allowed people fleeing war or poverty to suffer.
In what he called an "appeal to the conscience" of politicians in Europe and the international community, the first U.S. pope said that "human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border."
"We cannot grow accustomed to counting the dead," said the pope at Gran Canaria's Port of Arguineguin, dubbed the "Dock of Shame" by relief organizations after some 1,000 migrants were stranded in squalid conditions there in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
"May history not accuse us of turning the pain of those who suffer into a common sight along our shores," he urged thousands gathered near a memorial to migrants lost at sea. "Sooner or later, it will be known whether we protected life or whether we yielded to indifference."
POPE MAKES 'BOW' BEFORE MIGRANTS' HUMAN DIGNITY
Leo, who has adopted a more forceful tone against the direction of global leadership in recent months, recently drew the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after sharply criticising his hard-line, anti-immigrant policies.
The pope is visiting the archipelago off the western coast of Africa as the centrepiece of a week-long tour of Spain on which he will meet with some 1,000 migrants on Friday.
The islands are a destination for migrants taking a deadly journey through Atlantic waters, often in improvised and overcrowded small crafts.
In Thursday's meeting at the port with NGOs and charity organizations helping migrants, the pope heard from volunteers and others, including a rescue boat captain who said that in 18 years he and colleagues had saved some 20,000 migrants.
"It's a number that makes me sick and that you cannot forget," said the captain, Tito Villarmea. "I wish we didn't have to save anyone."
The pope also listened to testimony read on behalf of a Nigerian woman who recounted her experience of being trafficked and sexually abused while trying to enter Europe to pursue a better life. "I lived in conditions I would not wish on anyone," she said.
Leo told the woman that she was a blessing from God and deserved happiness.
"Dear migrants, before saying anything else to you, I want to bow before your dignity," the pope said. "You are not just numbers or files. You are people who have left behind families and homes. You have dreams that no one has the right to despise."
POPE URGES 'LEGAL AND SAFE PATHWAYS' FOR IMMIGRATION
Located more than 1,000 km (620 miles) from mainland Spain, the Canaries received a record 46,843 irregular migrants in 2024, compared with fewer than 1,000 in 2015, according to official data.
More than 3,000 people died in 2025 trying to reach the islands, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras.
Leo told the Spanish parliament on Monday that a lack of help for the world's migrants was challenging "the ethical foundation of the international order".
On Thursday, he called for "legal and safe pathways" for immigration, international cooperation to fight human trafficking, and funding to rescue migrants in distress at sea.
The world must do more to eradicate poverty, wars and corruption that forces migrants to flee their homes, he said.
"It is not enough to manage arrivals, distribute statistics, reinforce borders or lament deaths after they have occurred," said the pontiff.
Juan Carlos Lorenzo, coordinator of the Spanish Commission for Refugees in the Canary Islands, told Reuters that Leo's visit was a "significant milestone".
"It will serve as a strong affirmation of the defence of human rights, respect, and the dignity that all people deserve, regardless of their origin," said Lorenzo.
In contrast to most of Europe, Spain has adopted a more open stance on migrants, introducing a programme to grant residency to more than half a million undocumented people.
The initiative, however, has drawn criticism from far-right leaders and the country is struggling with the slow pace of granting legal status to thousands in limbo.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Alex Richardson and Charlie Devereux)
