Migration is boon for society, says Pope

(Jan. 15, 2007) The migrant family should not be seen as a problem, but rather as a resource for humanity, Benedict XVI said on Sunday, World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The Holy Father made these comments before reciting the midday Angelus prayer with the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square. He dedicated his address to the migrant family, the theme of the message he released earlier in November for the Catholic Church’s annual observance. In his Sunday Angelus address, the Pope recalled that the Holy Family of Nazareth was also a migrant family. They emigrated from their home country to Egypt to flee Herod's persecution. The Pontiff said: "In the drama of the family of Nazareth we can perceive the painful condition of so many migrants, especially refugees, the exiled, the displaced and the persecuted. "We recognize, in particular, the difficulties of the migrant family as such: the difficult conditions of life, the humiliations, inconveniences and fragility." The Holy Father said that today "the phenomenon of human mobility is very widespread and diversified." The Holy Father explained: "According to recent United Nations estimates, migrants impelled by financial reasons number almost 200 million; refugees number 9 million and international students some 2 million. "To this great number of brothers and sisters must be added the internally displaced and irregular migrants, keeping in mind that each one of them has, in one way or another, a family." The Pope appealed for the care of "migrants and their families through the help of specific legislative, juridical and administrative protections, as well as through a network of services and structures of social and pastoral assistance, with special attention to women and minors.