Mission of the Church and every baptized person is to show solidarity to immigrants,says Pope’s message for World Day of migrants & refugees

(Oct.08,2008):- The mission of the Church and of every baptized person in our time, even in the era of globalization, must be to show pastoral concern for immigrants, refugees, victims of human trafficking and of modern forms of slavery, says the Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the 95^th World Day of Migrants and Refugees to be celebrated 18 January, 2009. The theme of the message released on Tuesday is “St. Paul migrant, “Apostle of the peoples”, in keeping with the Jubilee Year in the Apostle’s honour on the occasion of the 2000^th anniversary of his birth.
The Papal message notes that the preaching and meditation between the different cultures and the Gospel, which Paul – “a migrant by vocation,” carried out, are an important reference point for those, who find themselves involved in the migratory movement today. The Pope’s message says that Paul’s life and his preaching, were totally directed to making Jesus known and loved by all, wherever he went.
Today too, says the Pope, the message of salvation must be presented with the same approach as that of the Apostle, taking into account the different social and cultural situations and special difficulties of each one, as a consequence of his or her condition as a migrant.
Expressing a wish that every Christian community may feel the same apostolic zeal as St. Paul, Pope Benedict concludes his message saying - “May the example of St. Paul, a humble apostle and migrant, also be an incentive for us to show solidarity to our marginalised brothers and sisters, and to promote in every part of the world and by every means, peaceful coexistence among different races, cultures and religions.