Pope Leo XIV Warns People Smugglers in Canary Islands to Repent or Face God’s Wrath

Pope Leo XIV warned people smugglers in the Canary Islands that they would face God’s wrath for exploiting the desperation of migrants, demanding they stop and repent during his final day in Spain.

“Pope Leo has warned human traffickers that they will face God’s wrath if they continue to exploit desperate African people trying to reach Europe via Spain’s Canary Islands”

Al Jazeera

In Tenerife, the pope told a meeting with humanitarian aid organizations that help migrants: "Break those chains and free those you hold in bondage," and he directed the remarks to criminal organizations and individual smugglers who organize dangerous "death routes" to Europe.

Al Jazeera

The pope framed the issue around the Catholic call to "welcome the stranger," while his trip unfolded in an area described as a key point of entry for migrants making the Atlantic crossing from West Africa.

The warning came as his return to Rome was delayed by a technical problem with his Iberia charter, and King Felipe VI offered his private plane instead, with the pope taking off more than three hours after he was originally due to leave.

In his message to traffickers, Pope Leo XIV said, "Stop. Repent," emphasizing each word in Spanish and drawing sustained applause from the crowd.

He added a list of harms that he said would be judged by divine justice, including "every body subjugated" and "every worker exploited," and he told traffickers: "you will have to appear before divine justice."

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The Reuters account also said Leo urged traffickers to "convert" before God or, otherwise, face hell, while Al Jazeera reported that he wanted to directly address those who “take advantage of people’s desperation [or] organise death routes”.

Al Jazeera further reported that the pope visited an interim housing centre in Tenerife, where the facility has received some 70,000 people since it opened in 2021, and it quoted Bousso Diouf telling him migrants did not want special privileges but “respect, humanity and the opportunity to live with dignity.”

The Canary Islands were described as a stepping stone for migrants trying to reach Europe from West Africa and Morocco, with official data cited for a migration peak in 2024 when the islands hosted 46,843 irregular migrants.

“By Joshua McElwee Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, June 12 (Reuters) - Pope Leo on Friday issued a stern warning to human traffickers and criminal groups that prey on desperate migrants attempting to reach Europe via the Canary Islands, urging them to 'convert' before God or, otherwise, face hell”

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Al Jazeera reported that more than 3,000 people died last year trying to reach the islands, and it said the pope’s visit included hearing testimonies from migrants at a provisional reception center in Tenerife.

The Reuters-based account said the EU Migration Pact fully took effect on the day of Leo’s remarks, tightening asylum rules, and it placed the warning in a context where smugglers charge thousands of euros a person and often force passengers into prostitution or other black market labor by withholding documents.

Reuters also said the pope’s message came as police dismantled a Nigerian criminal network involved in trafficking people in Spain and another that exploited vulnerable Ukrainian women with protection status, and it noted that last year Spanish authorities dismantled a human-trafficking network that lured more than 1,000 women with false job offers before forcing them into prostitution.