Vatican City, 23 September 2014 (VIS) –
A press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office this
morning, in which Cardinal Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant
Peoples, along with Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil, secretary of
the same dicastery, presented the Holy Father's message for World Day
of Migrants and Refugees, which will be held on Sunday 18 January
2015 on the theme, “A Church without frontiers, Mother to all”.
Cardinal Veglio explained that the
Message is dated 3 September, the date of the centenary of the
election of Pope Benedict XV, and highlighted the importance Pope
Francis has attached to establishing an annual day for increasing
awareness of the phenomenon of migration. He also emphasised that the
Church has faced ever new and challenging situations during her
millennial history, and that migration poses fresh challenges not
only on account of its magnitude but also for the various social,
economic, political, cultural and religious problems it gives rise
to.
“The biblical commandment to love
one's neighbour, to open the door to him as though welcoming God, may
come into conflict with certain problematic situations, for instance
when immigrants are linked to irregular or delinquent behaviour”.
Cardinal Veglio posed the question, “How should the Church
respond?”, when faced with such a complex situation, and went on to
outline the three recommendations offered by the Pope. These are: the
renouncement of oneself, collaboration between the different entities
and institutions that work for immigrants, and the humanisation of
conditions for immigrants, intensifying efforts to promote a gradual
reduction in the root causes of immigration, that cause entire
peoples to abandon their homelands.
Archbishop Kalathiparambil went on to
consider the theme of multiculturalism in contemporary society, which
is in constant evolution. He raised key issues related to forced
immigration, explaining that this takes the form of fleeing for
salvation, often involving dangerous or life-threatening journeys
which may nonetheless offer the only option for reaching a country
where protection and the possibility of a dignified life can be
found. The prelate highlighted that since many people in these
conditions cannot meet the stringent requirements for international
travel as they often do not possess, and have no means of obtaining
valid documents, they become “vulnerable and defenceless, in search
of protection, and easy prey to smugglers and traffickers”.
He remarked that “to respond
effectively to the recognition of the need for protection, to restore
human dignity to refugees and treat the causes of forced mobility”,
States are required to cooperate in a spirit of international
solidarity, and added that the Church must make efforts to ensure
that “the dignity and the centrality of the human person is
protected, promoting solidarity and dialogue between peoples”. He
concluded by emphasising that today's challenge is to resist becoming
“used to the human tragedy experienced by forcibly displaced
persons, and not to allow indifference, 'the weakness of our human
nature', to prevail or to give rise to the temptation to be
Christians who keep a safe distance from the wounds of the Lord”.
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