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22 Oct LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS ON EUROPE

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[…] We can see this in the many fears felt in our contemporary societies, among
which I would mention uneasiness and concern about migrants. Only a Europe
that is a supportive community can meet the present challenge in a productive
way, since piecemeal solutions have proved to be inadequate. It is clear that a
proper acceptance of migrants must not only assist those newly arrived, who are
often fleeing conflict, hunger or natural disasters, but must also work for their
integration, enabling them “to learn, respect and assimilate the culture and
traditions of the nations that welcome them” (Address to Participants in the
Conference “(Re)thinking Europe”, 28 October 2017). […]

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03 Oct ENCYCLICAL LETTER FRATELLI TUTTI ON FRATERNITY AND SOCIAL FRIENDSHIP

Posted at 09:56h in by

AN ABSENCE OF HUMAN DIGNITY ON THE BORDERS

37. Certain populist political regimes, as well as certain liberal economic
approaches, maintain that an influx of migrants is to be prevented at all costs.
Arguments are also made for the propriety of limiting aid to poor countries, so
that they can hit rock bottom and find themselves forced to take austerity
measures. One fails to realize that behind such statements, abstract and hard to
support, great numbers of lives are at stake. Many migrants have fled from war,
persecution and natural catastrophes. Others, rightly, “are seeking opportunities
for themselves and their families. They dream of a better future and they want
to create the conditions for achieving it” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation
Christus Vivit, 25 March 2019, 91).

38. Sadly, some “are attracted by Western culture, sometimes with unrealistic
expectations that expose them to grave disappointments. Unscrupulous
traffickers, frequently linked to drug cartels or arms cartels, exploit the
weakness of migrants, who too often experience violence, trafficking,
psychological and physical abuse and untold sufferings on their journey”
(Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, 25 March 2019, 92). Those
who emigrate “experience separation from their place of origin, and often a
cultural and religious uprooting as well. Fragmentation is also felt by the
communities they leave behind, which lose their most vigorous and enterprising
elements, and by families, especially when one or both of the parents migrates,
leaving the children in the country of origin” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation
Christus Vivit, 25 March 2019, 93). For this reason, “there is also a need to
reaffirm the right not to emigrate, that is, to remain in one’s homeland”
(BENEDICT XVI, Message for the 2013 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 12
October 2012).

39. Then too, “in some host countries, migration causes fear and alarm, often
fomented and exploited for political purposes. This can lead to a xenophobic
mentality, as people close in on themselves, and it needs to be addressed
decisively” (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, 25 March 2019,
92). Migrants are not seen as entitled like others to participate in the life of
society, and it is forgotten that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any
person. Hence they ought to be “agents in their own redemption” (Message for
the 2020 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 13 May 2020). No one will ever
openly deny that they are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and
the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less
important, less human. For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is
unacceptable, since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of
our faith: the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race
or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love.

40. “Migrations, more than ever before, will play a pivotal role in the future of
our world” (Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 11
January 2016). At present, however, migration is affected by the “loss of that
sense of responsibility for our brothers and sisters on which every civil society is
based” (Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 11 January
2016). Europe, for example, seriously risks taking this path. Nonetheless, “aided
by its great cultural and religious heritage, it has the means to defend the
centrality of the human person and to find the right balance between its twofold
moral responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens and to assure assistance
and acceptance to migrants” (Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the
Holy See, 11 January 2016).

41. I realize that some people are hesitant and fearful with regard to migrants. I
consider this part of our natural instinct of self-defence. Yet it is also true that an
individual and a people are only fruitful and productive if they are able to
develop a creative openness to others. I ask everyone to move beyond those
primal reactions because “there is a problem when doubts and fears condition
our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and
perhaps even – without realizing it – racist. In this way, fear deprives us of the
desire and the ability to encounter the other”. (Message for the 2019 World Day
of Migrants and Refugees, 27 May 2019)

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27 Sep POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS

Posted at 19:17h in by

After the Angelus the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
[…] today the Church celebrates the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. I
greet the refugees and migrants present in the Square around the monument
entitled “Angels, unawares” (cf. Heb 13:2), which I blessed one year ago. This
year I wished to dedicate my Message to the internally displaced, who are forced
to flee, as also happened to Jesus and his family. “Like Jesus, forced to flee”,
likewise the displaced, migrants. Our remembrance and our prayer go to them,
in a particular way, and to those who assist them. […]

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27 Sep MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 106 th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 2020

Posted at 11:58h in by

At the beginning of this year, in my Address to the members of the Diplomatic
Corps accredited to the Holy See, I pointed to the tragedy of internally displaced
people as one of the challenges of our contemporary world: “Situations of
conflict and humanitarian emergencies, aggravated by climate change, are
increasing the numbers of displaced persons and affecting people already living
in a state of dire poverty. Many of the countries experiencing these situations
lack adequate structures for meeting the needs of the displaced” (9 January
2020).
The Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral
Human Development has issued the document “Pastoral Orientations on
Internally Displaced People” (Vatican City, 5 May 2020), which aims to inspire
and encourage the pastoral work of the Church in this specific area.
For these reasons, I have decided to devote this Message to the drama of
internally displaced persons, an often unseen tragedy that the global crisis
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated. In fact, due to its
virulence, severity and geographical extent, this crisis has impacted on many
other humanitarian emergencies that affect millions of people, which has
relegated to the bottom of national political agendas those urgent international
efforts essential to saving lives. But “this is not a time for forgetfulness. The
crisis we are facing should not make us forget the many other crises that bring
suffering to so many people” (Urbi et Orbi Message, 12 April 2020).
In the light of the tragic events that have marked 2020, I would like this
Message, although concerned with internally displaced persons, to embrace all
those who are experiencing situations of precariousness, abandonment,
marginalization and rejection as a result of COVID-19.
I would like to start with the image that inspired Pope Pius XII in his Apostolic
Constitution Exsul Familia (1 August 1952). During the flight into Egypt, the
child Jesus experienced with his parents the tragic fate of the displaced and
refugees, “which is marked by fear, uncertainty and unease (cf Mt 2:13-15,
19-23). Unfortunately, in our own times, millions of families can identify with this
sad reality. Almost every day the television and papers carry news of refugees
fleeing from hunger, war and other grave dangers, in search of security and a
dignified life for themselves and for their families” (Angelus, 29 December
2013). In each of these people, forced to flee to safety, Jesus is present as he
was at the time of Herod. In the faces of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the
sick, strangers and prisoners, we are called to see the face of Christ who pleads
with us to help (cf Mt 25:31-46). If we can recognize him in those faces, we will
be the ones to thank him for having been able to meet, love and serve him in
them.
Displaced people offer us this opportunity to meet the Lord, “even though our
eyes find it hard to recognize him: his clothing in tatters, his feet dirty, his face
disfigured, his body wounded, his tongue unable to speak our language”
(Homily, 15 February 2019). We are called to respond to this pastoral challenge
with the four verbs I indicated in my Message for this Day in 2018: welcome,
protect, promote and integrate. To these words, I would now like to add another
six pairs of verbs that deal with very practical actions and are linked together in
a relationship of cause and effect.
You have to know in order to understand. Knowledge is a necessary step
towards understanding others. Jesus himself tells us this in the account of the
disciples on the road to Emmaus: “While they were talking and discussing
together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were kept
from recognizing him” (Lk 24:15-16). When we talk about migrants and
displaced persons, all too often we stop at statistics. But it is not about statistics,
it is about real people! If we encounter them, we will get to know more about
them. And knowing their stories, we will be able to understand them. We will be
able to understand, for example, that the precariousness that we have come to
experience as a result of this pandemic is a constant in the lives of displaced
people.
It is necessary to be close in order to serve. It may seem obvious, yet often it is
the contrary. “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where the man was;
and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his
wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought
him to an inn, and took care of him” (Lk 10:33-34). Fears and prejudices – all
too many prejudices – keep us distant from others and often prevent us from
“becoming neighbours” to them and serving them with love. Drawing close to
others often means being willing to take risks, as so many doctors and nurses
have taught us in recent months. This readiness to draw near and serve goes
beyond a mere sense of duty. Jesus gave us the greatest example of this when
he washed the feet of his disciples: he took off his cloak, knelt down and dirtied
his hands (cf Jn 13:1-15).
In order to be reconciled, we need to listen. God himself taught us this by
sending his Son into the world. He wanted to listen to the plea of suffering
humanity with human ears: “For God so loved the world that he gave his
only-begotten Son… that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:16-17). A
love that reconciles and saves begins with listening. In today’s world, messages
multiply but the practice of listening is being lost. Yet it is only through humble
and attentive listening that we can truly be reconciled. In 2020, silence has
reigned for weeks in our streets. A dramatic and troubling silence, but one that
has given us the opportunity to listen to the plea of the vulnerable, the displaced
and our seriously ill planet. Listening gives us an opportunity to be reconciled
with our neighbour, with all those who have been “discarded”, with ourselves and
with God, who never tires of offering us his mercy.
In order to grow, it is necessary to share. Sharing was an essential element of
the first Christian community: “Now the company of those who believed were of
one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed
was his own, but they had everything in common” (Acts 4:32). God did not want
the resources of our planet to benefit only a few. This was not the Lord’s will! We
have to learn to share in order to grow together, leaving no one behind. The
pandemic has reminded us how we are all in the same boat. Realizing that we
have the same concerns and fears has shown us once more that no one can be
saved alone. To grow truly, we must grow together, sharing what we have, like
the boy who offered Jesus five barley loaves and two fish… yet they proved
enough for five thousand people (cf Jn 6:1-15)!
We need to be involved in order to promote. As Jesus was with the Samaritan
woman (cf. Jn 4:1-30). The Lord approaches her, listens to her, speaks to her
heart, and then leads her to the truth and makes her a herald of the Good News:
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did! Can this be the Christ?” (v.
29). Sometimes the impulse to serve others prevents us from seeing their real
riches. If we really want to promote those whom we assist, we must involve
them and make them agents in their own redemption. The pandemic has
reminded us of how essential co-responsibility is, and that only with the
contribution of everyone – even of those groups so often underestimated – can
we face this crisis. We must find “the courage to create spaces where everyone
can recognize that they are called, and to allow new forms of hospitality,
fraternity and solidarity” (Meditation in Saint Peter’s Square, 27 March 2020).
It is necessary to cooperate in order to build. That is what the Apostle Paul tells
the community of Corinth: “I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement” (1 Cor 1:10).
Building the Kingdom of God is a duty common to all Christians, and for this
reason it is necessary that we learn to cooperate, without yielding to the
temptation to jealousy, discord and division. In the present context it should be
reiterated: “This is not a time for self-centredness, because the challenge we are
facing is shared by all, without distinguishing between persons” (Urbi et Orbi
Message, 12 April 2020). To preserve our common home and make it conform
more and more to God’s original plan, we must commit ourselves to ensuring
international cooperation, global solidarity and local commitment, leaving no one
excluded.
I would like to conclude with a prayer suggested by the example of Saint Joseph
at the time he was forced to flee to Egypt to save the child Jesus.
Father, you entrusted to Saint Joseph what you held most precious: the child
Jesus and his Mother, in order to protect them from the dangers and threats of
the wicked.
Grant that we may experience his protection and help. May he, who shared in
the sufferings of those who flee from the hatred of the powerful, console and
protect all our brothers and sisters driven by war, poverty and necessity to leave
their homes and their lands to set out as refugees for safer places.
Help them, through the intercession of Saint Joseph, to find the strength to
persevere, give them comfort in sorrows and courage amid their trials.
Grant to those who welcome them some of the tender love of this just and wise
father, who loved Jesus as a true son and sustained Mary at every step of the
way.
May he, who earned his bread by the work of his hands, watch over those who
have seen everything in life taken away and obtain for them the dignity of a job
and the serenity of a home.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, whom Saint Joseph saved by fleeing
to Egypt, and trusting in the intercession of the Virgin Mary, whom he loved as a
faithful husband in accordance with your will. Amen.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 13 May 2020,
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima.

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23 Sep POPE FRANCIS GENERAL AUDIENCE

Posted at 19:14h in by

[…] Putting it in everyday language, the powerful are listened to more than the
weak, and this is not the way, it is not the human way, it is not the way that
Jesus taught us, it is not implementing the principle of subsidiarity. In this way,
we do not permit people to be “agents in their own redemption” (Message for
the 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2020, 13 May 2020). There is
this motto in the collective unconscious of some politicians or some trade
unionists: everything for the people, nothing with the people. From top to
bottom, but without listening to the wisdom of the people, without activating this
wisdom in resolving problems, in this case in emerging from the crisis. Or let us
also think about the way to cure the virus: large pharmaceutical companies are
listened to more than the healthcare workers employed on the front lines in
hospitals or in refugee camps. This is not a good path. Everyone should be
listened to, those who are at the top and those who are at the bottom,
everyone. […]

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13 Sep POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS

Posted at 19:12h in by

After the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters, in recent days, a series of fires have devastated the
refugee camp of Moria on the Island of Lesbos, leaving thousands of people
without a shelter, even a precarious one. I still remember my visit there and the
appeal I launched together with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and
Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, to “do our part towards giving migrants,
refugees and asylum-seekers a humane reception in Europe” (16 April 2016). I
express my solidarity and closeness to all the victims of these dramatic events.

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10 Sep ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO A DELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN PROJECT “SNAPSHOTS FROM THE BORDERS”

Posted at 20:58h in by

Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I offer my welcome to you who have joined the project “Snapshots from the
Borders”. I thank Mr Salvatore Martello, mayor of Lampedusa and Linosa, for the
words he addressed to me on everyone’s behalf. And I also thank you for this
beautiful cross, so meaningful, that you have brought. Thank you. Yours is a
forward-thinking project. It aims to promote a deeper understanding of
migration, which would allow European societies to offer a more human and
coordinated response to the challenges of contemporary migrations. The network
of local authorities and organizations of civil society, from which this project
arose, is determined to contribute positively to the development of migratory
policies that respond to this end. The current migratory scenario is complex and
often presents dramatic consequences. The global interdependencies that
determine migratory flows are to be studied and understood better. The
challenges are many and involve everyone. No one can remain indifferent to the
human tragedies that continue to occur in different regions of the world. Among
these we are often challenged by those having the Mediterranean as their
theatre, a sea of borders, but also of cultural encounter.
Last February, during the very positive Meeting with Bishops of the
Mediterranean, in Bari, I recalled that: “In the Mediterranean region, these
include all who are fleeing war or who have left their homelands in search of a
humanly dignified life… We are aware that, in different social contexts, there is a
growing attitude of indifference… The international community has been content
with military interventions, whereas it should have built institutions that can
guarantee equal opportunities and enable citizens to assume their responsibility
for the common good… In the meantime, we can never resign ourselves to the
fact that someone who seeks hope by way of the sea can die without receiving
help… To be sure, acceptance and a dignified integration are stages in a process
that is not easy. Yet it is unthinkable that we can address the problem by putting
up walls” (Address, 23 February 2020).
In facing these challenges, it seems evident that concrete solidarity and shared
responsibility, both at the national and international level, are indispensable.
“The current pandemic has highlighted our interdependence: we are all
connected to each other, for better or for worse” (General Audience, 2
September 2020). We must act together, not alone.
It is also fundamental to change the way of seeing and speaking about
migration: it means putting the people, the faces, the stories at the centre. Thus
the importance of projects, like the one you promote, that seek to offer different
approaches, inspired by the culture of encounter, which constitutes the journey
toward a new humanism. And when I say “new humanism”, I do not mean just
as a philosophy of life, but also as a spirituality, as a style of conduct.
The inhabitants of border cities and territories — the societies, communities,
Churches — are called to be the first actors in this turning point, thanks to the
continuous opportunities for encounter that history offers them. Borders, always
considered barriers of division, can instead become ‘windows’, spaces for mutual
knowledge, for reciprocal enrichment, for communion in diversity; they can
become places in which to experience models to overcome the difficulties that
new arrivals bring to local communities.
I encourage you to continue working together for the culture of encounter and
solidarity. May the Lord bless your efforts in this sense, and may Our Lady
protect you and the people you work for. I pray for you, and you, please, do not
forget to pray for me. May the Lord bless all of you, your work and your efforts
in order to go forward in this direction.
Thank you.

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26 Aug POPE FRANCIS GENERAL AUDIENCE

Posted at 18:14h in by

[…] Social inequality and environmental degradation go together and have the
same root (cf. Encyclical, Laudato Si’ , 101): the sin of wanting to possess and
wanting to dominate over one’s brothers and sisters, of wanting to possess and
dominate nature and God himself. But this is not the design for creation. […]
[…] When the obsession to possess and dominate excludes millions of persons
from having primary goods; when economic and technological inequality are
such that the social fabric is torn; and when dependence on unlimited material
progress threatens our common home, then we cannot stand by and watch. No,
this is distressing. We cannot stand by and watch! With our gaze fixed on Jesus
(cf. Heb 12:2) and with the certainty that His love is operative through the
community of His disciples, we must act all together, in the hope of generating
something different and better. Christian hope, rooted in God, is our anchor. It
moves the will to share, strengthening our mission as disciples of Christ, who
shared everything with us. […]
[…] And in conclusion, let us think about the children. Read the statistics: how
many children today are dying of hunger because of a non good distribution of
riches, because of the economic system as I said above; and how many children
today do not have the right to education for the same reason. May this image of
children in want due to hunger and the lack of education help us understand that
after this crisis we must come out of it better. Thank you. […]

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23 Aug POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS

Posted at 18:12h in by

After the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Tomorrow, 24 August, is the 10th anniversary of the massacre of 72 migrants in
San Fernando, in Tamaulipas, Mexico. They were people from various countries
who were looking for a better life. I express my solidarity with the families of the
victims who today are still asking for justice and the truth about what happened.
The Lord will hold us to account for all of the migrants who have fallen on their
journey of hope. They were victims of the throw-away culture. […]

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08 Jul HOLY MASS ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE VISIT TO LAMPEDUSA HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

Posted at 11:58h in by

The Responsorial Psalm invites us always to seek the Lord’s face: “Seek the Lord
and his strength; seek his presence continually” (Ps 105:4). This quest is
fundamental for the life of every believer, for we have come to realize that our
ultimate goal in life is the encounter with God.
To seek the face of God is an assurance that our journey through this world will
end well. It is an exodus towards the Promised Land, our heavenly home. The
face of God is our destination and the guiding star that helps us not to lose our
way.
The people of Israel, as described by the prophet Hosea in the first reading (cf
10:1-3.7-8.12), had gone astray. They had lost sight of the Promised Land and
were wandering in the desert of iniquity. Abundance, prosperity and wealth had
caused their hearts to drift away from the Lord and had filled them instead with
falsehood and injustice.
We too, as Christians today, are not immune to this sin. “The culture of comfort,
which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of
other people, makes us live in soap bubbles which, however lovely, are
insubstantial; they offer a fleeting and empty illusion which results in
indifference to others; indeed, it even leads to the globalization of indifference.
In this globalized world, we have fallen into globalized indifference. We have
become used to the suffering of others: it doesn’t affect me; it doesn’t concern
me; it’s none of my business!” (Homily in Lampedusa, 8 July 2013).
Hosea’s words reach us today as a renewed summons to conversion, a call to
turn our eyes to the Lord and recognize his face. The prophet says: “Sow for
yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for
it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you”
(10:12).
Our efforts to seek the face of God are born of the desire for an encounter with
the Lord, a personal encounter, an encounter with his immense love, with his
saving power. The twelve apostles described in today’s Gospel (cf Mt 10:1-7)
received the grace to encounter him physically in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son
of God. Jesus – as we heard – called each of them by name. He looked them in
the eye, and they in turn gazed at his face, listened to his voice and beheld his
miracles. The personal encounter with the Lord, a time of grace and salvation,
entails a mission: “As you go”, Jesus tells them, proclaim the good news: ‘The
kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (v. 7). Encounter and mission must not be
separated.
This kind of personal encounter with Jesus Christ is possible also for us, who are
the disciples of the third millennium. In our effort to seek the Lord’s face, we can
recognize him in the face of the poor, the sick, the abandoned, and the
foreigners whom God places on our way. This encounter becomes also for us a
time of grace and salvation, and summons us to the same mission entrusted to
the Apostles.
Today marks the seventh year, the seventh anniversary of my visit to
Lampedusa. In the light of God’s word, I would like to repeat what I said to
those taking part in the meeting “Free from Fear” in February last year: “The
encounter with the other is also an encounter with Christ. He himself told us
this. He is the one knocking on our door, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick,
imprisoned; he is the one seeking an encounter with us, asking our help, asking
to come ashore. And lest we have any doubt, he tells us categorically: ‘Truly I
tell you, whatever you did to one of the least of these my brethren, you did to
me’” (Mt 25:40).
“Whatever you did…” for better or for worse! This admonition is all the more
timely today. We ought to use it as a basic starting point for our daily
examination of conscience. Here I think of Libya, detention camps, the abuses
and violence to which migrants are subjected; I think of journeys of hope,
rescue operations, and cases of rejection. “Whatever you did… you did to me.”
I remember that day, seven years ago, in the very south of Europe, on that
island… A number of people told me their stories and all that they had gone
through to get there. There were interpreters present. One person was telling
me about terrible things in his language, and the interpreter seemed to translate
well, but this person spoke so long and the translation was brief. “Well”, I
thought, “their language must require more words to express an idea”. When I
returned home that afternoon, in the reception area there was a lady – God
bless her, she has since passed away – who was a daughter of Ethiopians. She
understood the language and she had seen our conversation on television. She
said this to me. “Listen, what the Ethiopian translator told you is not even a
quarter of the torture and suffering that those people experienced”. They gave
me the “distilled” version. This is what is happening today with Libya: they are
giving us a “distilled version”. The war is indeed horrible, we know that, but you
cannot imagine the hell that people are living there, in that detention camp. And
those people came only with hope of crossing the sea.
May the Virgin Mary, Solacium migrantium, “Solace of Migrants”, help us
discover the face of her Son in all our brothers and sisters forced to flee their
homeland because of the many injustices that continue to afflict our world.