Pope received Honduras’ new ambassador, President of European Parliament

October 12, 2013 - Pope Francis on Saturday received in the Vatican Honduras’ new ambassador to the Holy See, Carlos Ávila Molina. At a formal ceremony, the 55-year old father of two presented his credentials to the Pope, starting his diplomatic mission with the Holy See. The previous day, Friday, Pope Francis received in the Vatican the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, and discussed with him the problem of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea, especially in light of the shipwreck off the island of Lampedusa in which over 300 people died. “I share the view that for the richest part of the world it is a shame that people, just some meters in front of our borders, or coasts, died,” Martin Shultz lamented, saying whole system of immigration of the European Union must be reformed. “We have the Dublin II Convention which is covering exclusively political asylum, but temporary protection for refugees from civil war regions, from regions of natural disasters, or even a system of legal immigration, is missing in Europe,” Schulz said. Pope Francis on Friday also met Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. (Source: Vatican)