Pope Francis, returning to a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, yesterday spoke out against the limited progress made in helping migrants. “Five years have passed since I visited this place,” he said. “After all this time, we see that little has changed with regard to the issue of migration.”

His remarks came at the end of a five-day trip to Cyprus and Greece meant to renew focus on migration, an issue he has never wavered on, even as the world’s attention has faltered. When the world has paid attention, it has usually been in a way opposite to how he had hoped, with migrant flows fueling nationalist and populist surges across Europe.

Francis argued yesterday that the intractable reality of the issue exposed both the failure of stopgap measures and the need for a coordinated global response. He denounced an “indifference that kills” in Europe, which he said had shown a “cynical disregard that nonchalantly condemns to death those on the fringes.”

Pandemic effects: Stringent restrictions were in place for Francis’ visit. A maximum of 160 migrants were admitted into the tent in which he spoke. All were required to be vaccinated and have tested negative as an extra precaution.