Just as Greece has begun deporting refugees to Turkey, the Greek Orthodox church announced that Pope Francis intends to visit the Greek island of Lesbos, reports The Guardian.
Lesbos is the landing place for many of the refugees fleeing to Europe.
The Greek Orthodox church added that it had invited ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew, the head of the Eastern Orthodox church, “so that he can honour Lesbos with his presence the day of Pope Francis’s visit”.
The Vatican did not confirm that the pope would be visiting the Greek island, but its spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, did not deny that contact had been made about the possibility.
A Greek church statement published on the specialist website Dogma.gr gave no dates for the visits, but the site suggested they would take place on 15 April.
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