Pope prays for the ‘one human family’ desired by Christ

(January 17, 2011) Marking the Catholic Church’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the “migration experience” of the Church and hoped for a future where all people consider themselves part of “one human family.” The Son of God Himself was a refugee, he told a vast crowd in St. Peter’s Square in Rome before reciting his weekly midday ‘Angelus’ prayer with the faithful. Beginning from when Jesus was born and his parents fled to Egypt to protect his life, the Church has always lived the “migration experience,” he said. He recalled that the 97^th World Day of Migrants and Refugees this year invites reflection on the experience of the many people today who abandon their nations “often ... in dramatic conditions” in search of better lives. Christians sometimes “feel forced to leave” their homes but in other cases their voluntary movements from one place to another become a source of “missionary dynamism” for God’s message, “traversing peoples and cultures and reaching new frontiers.” The goal of the annual observance he said is that of “forming a single family ... with all the differences that enrich it, but without barriers, recognizing ourselves all as brothers.” “For this,” he said, “it is fundamental that Christians, despite being dispersed through the world and ... diverse by culture and traditions, be a single thing, as the Lord wishes.” With this scope in mind he said the Church also marks the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25. The Day of Jewish-Christian dialogue on Monday is also a “very meaningful” occasion that serves as a call back to “the importance of the common roots that unite Jews and Christians,” he said.
Following Sunday’s ‘Angelus’ prayer, the Pope expressed his joy for the beatification of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, on May 1 in Rome, saying that everyone who knew or admired him shares this joy. Beatification is the last major step before possible sainthood. Pope Benedict noted the significance of the May 1^st beatification date this year which is Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast that Pope John Paul instituted in 2001, assigning it to the Sunday after Easter. The Polish Pope died at the age of 84, in Rome on Saturday, April 2, 2005, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday that year. Pope Benedict noted that the news of his beatification was much awaited by everyone, especially by Poles, because John Paul had been “their guide in faith, in truth and in freedom.” The Holy Father also made use of his Sunday ‘Angelus’ to assure his prayers for the people of Australia, Brazil, the Philippines and Sri Lanka who have recently been hit by devastating floods. He prayed that the Lord receive those who lost their lives, give strength to those displaced and sustain the efforts of those trying to alleviate the suffering and difficulties of the victims.