With great joy at this honour, we confirm our participation in the great event "#notalone - World Meeting on Human Fraternity", scheduled for 10 June next, with a worldwide connection from St. Peter's Square in Rome.
One of the eight "squares" connected to Rome from all over the world will be our ship, the Mare Jonio, which together with the ships of the European Civil Fleet is engaged in the civil rescue mission in the central Mediterranean.
The connection will be made from the port of Trapani, where the Mare Jonio will receive on board for the occasion several delegations of lay people and Catholic realities committed to solidarity and the reception of migrant brothers and sisters, and to the fight in defence of human rights and against racism. In addition to the crew of the Mare Jonio and the activists of Mediterranea Sicilia, there will be the boys of the Agesci zone Concadoro of Palermo, the scout groups of the zone Netina Modica 1, the Franciscan Sisters of the Community of Palermo with the group of boys "Outsider - out of the box", the Bishop of Trapani Monsignor Fragnelli and the Bishop of Palermo Lorefice. In Rome, a delegation from Mediterranea will be present in St Peter's Square, led by the ship's chaplain, Don Mattia Ferrari.
The courageous choice of the organisers of this great event to involve a civilian rescue ship such as the Mare Jonio is not lost on us: in the midst of the criminalisation of those who go to sea to rescue brothers and sisters, in the name of human brotherhood above all, to give them the opportunity to do so is a strong, radical act of unambiguously speaking out in favour of those who suffer, the weakest and most defenceless among us. The images of the Cutro massacre, "which should have been avoided", as Pope Francis said, are still before our eyes.
We will meet on board the Mare Jonio in the port of Trapani from the morning of 10 June: we will break bread together to celebrate a 'renewed covenant' between men and women of good will who have chosen fraternity, not hatred or exclusion, as their way of life, to build a more just world for all.
In these hours we have also learned of the urgent hospitalisation of our Pope Francis: know that he can count on us, that from aboard our ship all possible love will come to be close to him, to give him strength.
