Pope’s tweet mourns another boat tragedy

October 12, 2013 - In a mortifying tweet on Saturday, Pope Francis mourned the death of another group of at least 34 migrants whose boat capsized Friday afternoon off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. “Lord, have mercy! Too often we are blinded by our comfortable lives, and refuse to see those dying at our doorstep,” the Pope wrote on his Twitter account, @Pontifex. Italian and Maltese naval vessels rescued 206 survivors. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Saturday that most of the migrants in the latest tragedy were fleeing civil war in Syria. It was the second time in recent days that a smugglers' ship has capsized in the Mediterranean. A boat sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa with 500 aboard. Only 155 survived. (Source: Vatican)