Pope takes in more Syrian asylum-seekers from Greece

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis has welcomed nine more Syrian asylum-seekers to Rome, two months after he flew another group back from Greece aboard his personal plane, the Vatican said Thursday.

The latest group had also been living in a transit camp on the Greek island of Lesbos after making the perilous sea crossing from Turkey.

"A second group of nine refugees arrived in Rome yesterday (Wednesday)," a Vatican statement said.



"The refugees, six adults and three children, are all Syrian citizens who were in the Kara Tepe refugee camp," it added.

The pope in April brushed off criticism over the earlier group saying, "I didn't make a choice between Christians and Muslims. All refugees are children of God."

They were selected by officials on the grounds that their paperwork was sufficiently in order to secure rapid agreement on their transfer from the Greek and Italian governments.

The three families have since settled into life in Rome and started to learn Italian.

Over 1.1 million people have crossed clandestinely from Turkey to Greece since the start of 2015, with hundreds drowning en route. Many of them are Syrians, fleeing the horrors of the country's war.



Arrivals in Greece have drastically fallen over the past weeks after Turkey agreed to take back anyone denied asylum in return for billions in EU cash and other concessions. Human rights groups have criticised the arrangement.

Pope Francis has previously condemned Western society for its indifference to refugees, making the cause of migrants trying to reach Europe one of the defining themes of his papacy.