Pope urges Church’s pastoral concern for migrants and their families

(May 15, 2008) Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday reminded the Church that every family, including that of the migrant and itinerant person, is a basic cell of society that cannot be destroyed but rather should be defended with courage and patience. The Pope’s exhortation came in an address he delivered to some 75 representatives from around the world who participated in the 18th plenary assembly of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. The subject of their May 13-15 meeting was the “migrant and itinerant family.’ Pope Benedict said that the family represents the community where, right from childhood, members are formed to adore and love God, where the grammar of human and moral values are learnt, and where one learns how to make good use of freedom in truth. The Pope lamented that this rarely occurs and with great difficulty, especially with people in movement. He particularly urged that access to the Eucharist be at the centre of the Church’s pastoral care for migrants and their families, saying “one who goes to Mass finds in the Eucharist a strong call to one’s family and marriage, and is encouraged to seek in divine grace the strength needed to live his or her situation in the light of faith.