[…] Next Wednesday, World Refugee Day will be observed. It is promoted by the
United Nations to call attention to what is experienced, often with great anxiety and
suffering, by our brothers and sisters forced to flee their land due to conflicts and
persecution. A Day which, this year, falls as consultations are underway among
governments for the adoption of a Global Compact on Refugees, which is hoped to
be adopted within the year, as well as that for safe, orderly and legal migration. I
hope that the states involved in these processes may reach an agreement to ensure,
with responsibility and humanity, assistance and protection to those who are forced
to leave their own country. But each one of us is also called to be close to refugees,
to find moments of encounter with them, to appreciate their contribution, so that
they too may be better integrated into the communities that receive them. In this
encounter and in this mutual respect and support there is a solution to many
problems. […]
