Pope’s message for 2019 World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Vatican News reports on Pope Francis’s celebration of the Mass for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. In his homily, the Pope reminded us “it is not just about migrants.”

The first World Day of Migrants and Refugees was celebrated in 1914. Since then, this annual commemoration has become an opportunity to express concern for vulnerable people on the move, and to pray for increased awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.

Here is the text of the Pope’s speech.  Here is the gist of his message:

“Dear brothers and sisters, our response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration can be summed up in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate. Yet these verbs do not apply only to migrants and refugees. They describe the Church’s mission to all those living in the existential peripheries, who need to be welcomed, protected, promoted and integrated. If we put those four verbs into practice, we will help build the city of God and man. We will promote the integral human development of all people. We will also help the world community to come closer to the goals of sustainable development that it has set for itself and that, lacking such an approach, will prove difficult to achieve.”

KJ