Vatican City, 23 September 2014 (VIS) –
The full text of the Holy Father's Message for World Day of Migrants
and Refugees 2015 is published below:
“Dear brothers and sisters,
Jesus is 'the evangeliser par
excellence and the Gospel in person'. His solicitude, particularly
for the most vulnerable and marginalised, invites all of us to care
for the frailest and to recognise his suffering countenance,
especially in the victims of new forms of poverty and slavery. The
Lord says: 'I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you
gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and
you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and
you came to me'. The mission of the Church, herself a pilgrim in the
world and the Mother of all, is thus to love Jesus Christ, to adore
and love him, particularly in the poorest and most abandoned; among
these are certainly migrants and refugees, who are trying to escape
difficult living conditions and dangers of every kind. For this
reason, the theme for this year’s World Day of Migrants and
Refugees is: Church without frontiers, Mother to all.
“The Church opens her arms to welcome
all people, without distinction or limits, in order to proclaim that
'God is love'. After his death and resurrection, Jesus entrusted to
the disciples the mission of being his witnesses and proclaiming the
Gospel of joy and mercy. On the day of Pentecost, the disciples left
the Upper Room with courage and enthusiasm; the strength of the Holy
Spirit overcame their doubts and uncertainties and enabled all to
understand the disciples’ preaching in their own language. From the
beginning, the Church has been a mother with a heart open to the
whole world, and has been without borders. This mission has
continued for two thousand years. But even in the first centuries,
the missionary proclamation spoke of the universal motherhood of the
Church, which was then developed in the writings of the Fathers and
taken up by the Second Vatican Council. The Council Fathers spoke of
Ecclesia Mater to explain the Church’s nature. She begets sons and
daughters and 'takes them in and embraces them with her love and in
her heart'.
“The Church without frontiers, Mother
to all, spreads throughout the world a culture of acceptance and
solidarity, in which no one is seen as useless, out of place or
disposable. When living out this motherhood effectively, the
Christian community nourishes, guides and indicates the way,
accompanying all with patience, and drawing close to them through
prayer and works of mercy.
“Today this takes on a particular
significance. In fact, in an age of such vast movements of migration,
large numbers of people are leaving their homelands, with a suitcase
full of fears and desires, to undertake a hopeful and dangerous trip
in search of more humane living conditions. Often, however, such
migration gives rise to suspicion and hostility, even in ecclesial
communities,prior to any knowledge of the migrants’ lives or their
stories of persecution and destitution. In such cases, suspicion and
prejudice conflict with the biblical commandment of welcoming with
respect and solidarity the stranger in need.
On the other hand, we sense in our
conscience the call to touch human misery, and to put into practice
the commandment of love that Jesus left us when he identified himself
with the stranger, with the one who suffers, with all the innocent
victims of violence and exploitation. Because of the weakness of our
nature, however, 'we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who
keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length'.
“The courage born of faith, hope and
love enables us to reduce the distances that separate us from human
misery. Jesus Christ is always waiting to be recognised in migrants
and refugees, in displaced persons and in exiles, and through them he
calls us to share our resources, and occasionally to give up
something of our acquired riches. Pope Paul VI spoke of this when he
said that 'the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so
as to place their goods more generously at the service of others'.
“The multicultural character of
society today, for that matter, encourages the Church to take on new
commitments of solidarity, communion and evangelisation. Migration
movements, in fact, call us to deepen and strengthen the values
needed to guarantee peaceful coexistence between persons and
cultures. Achieving mere tolerance that respects diversity and ways
of sharing between different backgrounds and cultures is not
sufficient. This is precisely where the Church contributes to
overcoming frontiers and encouraging the 'moving away from attitudes
of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalisation …
towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture
capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world'.
“Migration movements, however,are on
such a scale that only a systematic and active cooperation between
States and international organisations can be capable of regulating
and managing such movements effectively. For migration affects
everyone, not only because of the extent of the phenomenon, but also
because of 'the social, economic, political, cultural and religious
problems it raises, and the dramatic challenges it poses to nations
and the international community'.
“At the international level, frequent
debates take place regarding the appropriateness, methods and
required norms to deal with the phenomenon of migration. There are
agencies and organizations on the international, national and local
level which work strenuously to serve those seeking a better life
through migration. Notwithstanding their generous and laudable
efforts, a more decisive and constructive action is required, one
which relies on a universal network of cooperation, based on
safeguarding the dignity and centrality of every human person. This
will lead to greater effectiveness in the fight against the shameful
and criminal trafficking of human beings, the violation of
fundamental rights, and all forms of violence, oppression and
enslavement. Working together, however, requires
reciprocity,joint-action, openness and trust, in the knowledge that
'no country can singlehandedly face the difficulties associated with
this phenomenon, which is now so widespread that it affects every
continent in the twofold movement of immigration and emigration'.
“It is necessary to respond to the
globalisation of migration with the globalisation of charity and
cooperation, in such a way as to make the conditions of migrants more
humane. At the same time, greater efforts are needed to guarantee the
easing of conditions, often brought about by war or famine,which
compel whole peoples to leave their native countries.
“Solidarity with migrants and
refugees must be accompanied by the courage and creativity necessary
to develop, on a world-wide level, a more just and equitable
financial and economic order, as well as an increasing commitment to
peace, the indispensable condition for all authentic progress.
“Dear migrants and refugees! You have
a special place in the heart of the Church, and you help her to
enlarge her heart and to manifest her motherhood towards the entire
human family. Do not lose your faith and hope! Let us think of the
Holy Family during the flight in Egypt: Just as the maternal heart of
the Blessed Virgin and the kind heart of Saint Joseph kept alive the
confidence that God would never abandon them, so in you may the same
hope in the Lord never be wanting. I entrust you to their protection
and I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing”.
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