Spain Pope

Migrants attend a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the 'Las Raices' center, in San Cristobal de la Laguna, Tenerife, Spain, Friday, June 12, 2026.

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Pope tells traffickers of migrants in the Canary Islands: Stop, repent or face God's wrath

Pope tells traffickers of migrants in the Canary Islands: Stop, repent or face God's wrath

Pope Leo XIV is warning human traffickers that they will face God’s wrath for exploiting the desperation of migrants. Leo urged Friday they stop and repent during his final day in this epicenter of the African migration route to Europe. Leo wrapped up his weeklong trip to Spain in the Canary Islands. The Spanish archipelago is closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula and was a key point of entry for migrants who make the perilous Atlantic crossing from West Africa. He is fulfilling a wish of Pope Francis to visit the islands to commemorate the thousands of lives lost at sea. He is also drawing attention to the Catholic Church’s biblically-mandated mantra to “welcome the stranger.”