Pope Benedict decries brain drain from poor countries
(December 02, 2011) Because of the lack of quality formation and adequate structures,
as well as due to social and political tensions, young people leave their native countries
to study abroad, often in the West, but according to Pope Benedict XVI, this must
not result in an ‘indiscriminate brain drain’ for the country of origin. The Holy
Father’s remark came in his address to some 130 participants in the 3rd
World Congress for the Pastoral Care of International Students sponsored by the Vatican’s
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. The Nov.
30 – Dec. 3 meeting discussed the theme, ''International Students and the Encounter
of Cultures.” The Pope said that international students must combine to form a socially
and culturally relevant category in view of their return to their native countries
as future leaders, and help build cultural, social and spiritual bridges with their
host countries. The Pontiff said that international students, with their intellectual,
cultural and spiritual formation, have the capacity to become builders and protagonists
of a more humane world. In this regard he urged Catholic educational institutions
to be ‘laboratories of humanity’ through programmes and courses that stimulate young
students not only to seek professional qualification but also to search for happiness
and a sense of fulfilment which is found in the human heart.