Pope defends rights of refugees evicted to build US military base

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV blessed five statues of Mary that refugees evicted from their islands in order to build a major U.S. military base plan to place in the chapels they hope to restore when they return to their homelands.

"The renewed prospect of your return to your native archipelago is an encouraging sign and carries symbolic power on the international stage: all peoples, even the smallest and weakest, must be respected by the powerful in their identity and their rights -- especially the right to live in their own lands; and no one can force them into exile," the pope told the Chagos Islands' refugee group Aug. 23.

Between 1967 and 1973, the United Kingdom evicted residents of these islands in the Indian Ocean to allow the United States to build a major military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

In May, Britain and Mauritius signed an agreement returning sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius but giving Britain and the United States a 99-year lease for the Diego Garcia base. The parliaments of Britain and Mauritius must approve the agreement before the residents who were evicted and their descendants can return.

Pope Leo told the small delegation from the Chagos Refugees Group that he knows "these years of exile have caused much suffering among you. You have experienced poverty, contempt and exclusion."

Calling the forced eviction "a grave injustice," the pope thanked all those involved who, "by opening their hearts, have understood the suffering of your people and have reached this agreement."

Pope Leo also paid tribute to "the determination of the Chagossian people, and in particular to that of the women, in peacefully asserting their rights."

"As you look toward a better future, may the Lord heal your wounds and grant you the grace to forgive those who have wronged you," the pope said.