Pope Leo has urged the United States and European nations to ease up on their inhumane treatment of migrants and refugees. The pontiff made the appeal Saturday from the Italian island of Lampedusa, where he also visited a cemetery, praying over the graves of migrants who’ve died while making the treacherous journey from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean.

Pope Leo XIV: “Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made; indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries of origin; a global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion; fear that fuels prejudice and contempt; the belief that such problems do not concern us; the criminal calculations of those who profit from the suffering of others.”