The Archbishop of Guatemala, Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, said this week that the Catholic Church is concerned about the outbreak of racism in Europe towards Latin Americans. He also expressed doubts about the new European Union Immigration Directive.

At the conclusion of Mass on Sunday, the cardinal called for reciprocity in the treatment of immigrants to the EU, considering the openness that Europeans who have come to Latin America have found.

The EU’s Immigration Directive was approved on June 18 and would punish illegal immigrants with 18 months imprisonment and would forbid deported illegal immigrants from returning to Europe for five years.