Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Orthodox spiritual leader, say they hope their unprecedented joint visit to Greece Saturday (April 16) is a sign of solidarity amid the escalating migrant crisis. The two top religious leaders also want their trip to the Greek island of Lesbos to encourage political leaders to find new solutions.

The massive flow of refugees leaving the Middle East, Asia and Africa has generated a humanitarian emergency. This week, police along the border between Greece and Macedonia fired tear gas and rubber bullets into crowds of protesting migrants. Several nations have closed their borders to incoming migrants, and thousands have been stranded in makeshift camps. European leaders continue debating how to stem the massive flow of people. Meanwhile, aid workers continue scrambling to provide food and other supplies. This week, the non-governmental International Crisis Group released a statement calling on world leaders to “take a more coordinated, better principled action” to address the global refugee crisis. The group also noted that 86 percent of the total number of displaced people in the world are not in Europe but in developing countries.