Pope’s Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2014
Sept 24, 2014: “Each individual is a part of humanity and, with the entire family
of peoples, shares the hope of a better future” says Pope Francis in his message released
today, for The World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2014 which will be observed on January
19, 2014. The World Day of Migrants and Refugees Established by Pope Pius X in 1914,
is observed on the second Sunday after the Epiphany. Therefore, the forthcoming World
Day of Migrants and Refugees will be its 100th edition.
Continuing
on the theme ‘towards a better world’ Pope Francis says “a better world aims at an
authentic and integral development, at efforts to provide dignified living conditions
for everyone, at finding just responses to the needs of individuals and families,
and at ensuring that God’s gift of creation is respected, safeguarded and cultivated.
Voicing their concerns Pope Francis in his message says “Migrants and refugees
are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. They are children, women and men who
leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate
desire for knowing and having, but above all for being more.”
Calling for international
cooperation and a spirit of profound solidarity and compassion, he has emphasized
that such cooperation begins with the efforts of each country to create better economic
and social conditions at home, so that emigration will not be the only option left
for those who seek peace, justice, security and full respect of their human dignity,
adding that building a better world would also mean an elimination of prejudices and
presuppositions in the approach to migration, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness
and fear, indifference and marginalization – all typical of a throwaway culture.
Citing
the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth who was forced to take flight and seek
refuge in Egypt, he says they never doubted that God would always be with them. Affirming
the fact that all humans are created in God’s own image and likeness and therefore
every human being ought to be a child of God bearing the image of Christ, he said
“migrants and refugees do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers
and sisters to be welcomed, respected and loved.”
Before his final words
of blessing the Pope concludes instilling hope in the refugees assuring them that
they will encounter an outstretched hand, and that they can experience fraternal solidarity
and the warmth of friendship.
Below: Full text of the message:
Message
of His Holiness Pope Francis for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2014
Migrants
and Refugees: Towards a Better World
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our
societies are experiencing, in an unprecedented way, processes of mutual interdependence
and interaction on the global level. While not lacking problematic or negative elements,
these processes are aimed at improving the living conditions of the human family,
not only economically, but politically and culturally as well. Each individual is
a part of humanity and, with the entire family of peoples, shares the hope of a better
future. This consideration inspired the theme I have chosen for the World Day of
Migrants and Refugees this year: Migrants and Refugees: Towards a Better World.
In
our changing world, the growing phenomenon of human mobility emerges, to use the words
of Pope Benedict XVI, as a “sign of the times” (cf. Message for the 2006 World Day
of Migrants and Refugees). While it is true that migrations often reveal failures
and shortcomings on the part of States and the international community, they also
point to the aspiration of humanity to enjoy a unity marked by respect for differences,
by attitudes of acceptance and hospitality which enable an equitable sharing of the
world’s goods, and by the protection and the advancement of the dignity and centrality
of each human being.
From the Christian standpoint, the reality of migration,
like other human realities, points to the tension between the beauty of creation,
marked by Grace and the Redemption, and the mystery of sin. Solidarity, acceptance,
and signs of fraternity and understanding exist side by side with rejection, discrimination,
trafficking and exploitation, suffering and death. Particularly disturbing are those
situations where migration is not only involuntary, but actually set in motion by
various forms of human trafficking and enslavement. Nowadays, “slave labour” is common
coin! Yet despite the problems, risks and difficulties to be faced, great numbers
of migrants and refugees continue to be inspired by confidence and hope; in their
hearts they long for a better future, not only for themselves but for their families
and those closest to them.
What is involved in the creation of “a better
world”? The expression does not allude naively to abstract notions or unattainable
ideals; rather, it aims at an authentic and integral development, at efforts to provide
dignified living conditions for everyone, at finding just responses to the needs of
individuals and families, and at ensuring that God’s gift of creation is respected,
safeguarded and cultivated. The Venerable Paul VI described the aspirations of people
today in this way: “to secure a sure food supply, cures for diseases and steady employment…
to exercise greater personal resonsibility; to do more, to learn more, and have more,
in order to be more” (Populorum Progressio, 6).
Our hearts do desire something
“more”. Beyond greater knowledge or possessions, they want to “be” more. Development
cannot be reduced to economic growth alone, often attained without a thought for the
poor and the vulnerable. A better world will come about only if attention is first
paid to individuals; if human promotion is integral, taking account of every dimension
of the person, including the spiritual; if no one is neglected, including the poor,
the sick, prisoners, the needy and the stranger (cf. Mt 25:31-46); if we can prove
capable of leaving behind a throwaway culture and embracing one of encounter and acceptance.
Migrants
and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. They are children, women
and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who
share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being more. The
sheer number of people migrating from one continent to another, or shifting places
within their own countries and geographical areas, is striking. Contemporary movements
of migration represent the largest movement of individuals, if not of peoples, in
history. As the Church accompanies migrants and refugees on their journey, she seeks
to understand the causes of migration, but she also works to overcome its negative
effects, and to maximize its positive influence on the communities of origin, transit
and destination.
While encouraging the development of a better world, we cannot
remain silent about the scandal of poverty in its various forms. Violence, exploitation,
discrimination, marginalization, restrictive approaches to fundamental freedoms, whether
of individuals or of groups: these are some of the chief elements of poverty which
need to be overcome. Often these are precisely the elements which mark migratory
movements, thus linking migration to poverty. Fleeing from situations of extreme
poverty or persecution in the hope of a better future, or simply to save their own
lives, millions of persons choose to migrate. Despite their hopes and expectations,
they often encounter mistrust, rejection and exclusion, to say nothing of tragedies
and disasters which offend their human dignity.
The reality of migration,
given its new dimensions in our age of globalization, needs to be approached and managed
in a new, equitable and effective manner; more than anything, this calls for international
cooperation and a spirit of profound solidarity and compassion. Cooperation at different
levels is critical, including the broad adoption of policies and rules aimed at protecting
and promoting the human person. Pope Benedict XVI sketched the parameters of such
policies, stating that they “should set out from close collaboration between the migrants’
countries of origin and their countries of destination; they should be accompanied
by adequate international norms able to coordinate different legislative systems with
a view to safeguarding the needs and rights of individual migrants and their families,
and at the same time, those of the host countries” (Caritas in Veritate, 62). Working
together for a better world requires that countries help one another, in a spirit
of willingness and trust, without raising insurmountable barriers. A good synergy
can be a source of encouragement to government leaders as they confront socioeconomic
imbalances and an unregulated globalization, which are among some of the causes of
migration movements in which individuals are more victims than protagonists. No country
can singlehandedly face the difficulties associated with this phenomenon, which is
now so widespread that it affects every continent in the twofold movement of immigration
and emigration.
It must also be emphasized that such cooperation begins with
the efforts of each country to create better economic and social conditions at home,
so that emigration will not be the only option left for those who seek peace, justice,
security and full respect of their human dignity. The creation of opportunities for
employment in the local economies will also avoid the separation of families and ensure
that individuals and groups enjoy conditions of stability and serenity. Finally,
in considering the situation of migrants and refugees, I would point to yet another
element in building a better world, namely, the elimination of prejudices and presuppositions
in the approach to migration. Not infrequently, the arrival of migrants, displaced
persons, asylum-seekers and refugees gives rise to suspicion and hostility. There
is a fear that society will become less secure, that identity and culture will be
lost, that competition for jobs will become stiffer and even that criminal activity
will increase. The communications media have a role of great responsibility in this
regard: it is up to them, in fact, to break down stereotypes and to offer correct
information in reporting the errors of a few as well as the honesty, rectitude and
goodness of the majority. A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed
on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference
and marginalization – all typical of a throwaway culture – towards attitudes based
on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just
and fraternal world. The communications media are themselves called to embrace this
“conversion of attitudes” and to promote this change in the way migrants and refugees
are treated.
I think of how even the Holy Family of Nazareth experienced initial
rejection: Mary “gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths,
and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Lk 2:7).
Jesus, Mary and Joseph knew what it meant to leave their own country and become migrants:
threatened by Herod’s lust for power, they were forced to take flight and seek refuge
in Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-14). But the maternal heart of Mary and the compassionate heart
of Joseph, the Protector of the Holy Family, never doubted that God would always be
with them. Through their intercession, may that same firm certainty dwell in the
heart of every migrant and refugee.
The Church, responding to Christ’s command
to “go and make disciples of all nations”, is called to be the People of God which
embraces all peoples and brings to them the proclamation of the Gospel, for the face
of each person bears the mark of the face of Christ! Here we find the deepest foundation
of the dignity of the human person, which must always be respected and safeguarded.
It is less the criteria of efficiency, productivity, social class, or ethnic or religious
belonging which ground that personal dignity, so much as the fact of being created
in God’s own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26-27) and, even more so, being children
of God. Every human being is a child of God! He or she bears the image of Christ!
We ourselves need to see, and then to enable others to see, that migrants and refugees
do not only represent a problem to be solved, but are brothers and sisters to be welcomed,
respected and loved. They are an occasion that Providence gives us to help build
a more just society, a more perfect democracy, a more united country, a more fraternal
world and a more open and evangelical Christian community. Migration can offer possibilities
for a new evangelization, open vistas for the growth of a new humanity foreshadowed
in the paschal mystery: a humanity for which every foreign country is a homeland and
every homeland is a foreign country.
Dear migrants and refugees! Never lose
the hope that you too are facing a more secure future, that on your journey you will
encounter an outstretched hand, and that you can experience fraternal solidarity and
the warmth of friendship! To all of you, and to those who have devoted their lives
and their efforts to helping you, I give the assurance of my prayers and I cordially
impart my Apostolic Blessing.