Papal Documents on Migration
World Migration Day 2006 Message (Pope Benedict XVI)
Speaking of the other category of migrants – asylum seekers and refugees – I wish to underline how the tendency is to stop at the question of their arrival while disregarding the reasons for which they left their native land. The Church sees this entire world of suffering and violence through the eyes of Jesus, who was moved with pity at the sight of the crowds wandering as sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mt 9,36). Hope, courage, love and "creativity in charity" (Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, No. 50) must inspire the necessary human and Christian efforts made to help these brothers and sisters in their suffering. Their native Churches will demonstrate their concern by sending pastoral agents of the same language and culture, in a dialogue of charity with the particular Churches that welcome them. (October 18, 2005)
Angelus Message - June 19, 2005 (Pope Benedict XVI)
The courage to be a refugee lays the emphasis on the strength of spirit demanded of those who have to leave everything, sometimes even their family, to escape grave problems and dangers. The Christian Community feels close to all who are experiencing this painful condition; it endeavors to encourage them and in various ways shows them its interest and love, which is expressed in concrete gestures of solidarity so that everyone who is far from his own Country will feel the Church as a homeland where no one is a stranger.
Angelus Message – June 5, 2005 (Pope Benedict XVI)
I turn my thoughts to those who are far from their homeland and also often from their family, and I hope that on their way they will always meet friendly faces and welcoming hearts that can sustain them in the difficulties of daily life.
World Migration Day 2005 Message (Pope John Paul II)
In our society, characterized by the global phenomenon of migration, individuals must seek the proper balance between respect for their own identity and recognition of that of others. Indeed, it is necessary to recognize the legitimate plurality of cultures present in a country, in harmony with the preservation of law and order, on which depend social peace and the freedom of citizens. (November 24, 2004, no. 3)
As such, Christians must above all listen to the cry for help that comes from a multitude of migrants and refugees, but they must then foster, with active commitment, prospects of hope that will herald the dawn of a more open and supportive society. It is up to them in the first place to make out God's presence in history, even when everything still seems to be enveloped in darkness. (November 24, 2004, no. 4)
Message for World Migration Day 2004: Migration with a View to Peace
…it is necessary to reaffirm vigorously that there can be no true peace without justice and respect for human rights. (December 15, 2003, No. 2)
Migration can in fact facilitate encounter and understanding between civilizations as well as between individuals and communities. The enriching dialogue between cultures… is an obligatory path to the building of a reconciled world. (December 15, 2003, No. 5)
When diversities converge and are integrated they start a friendly coexistence of differences. Values are rediscovered that are common to every culture, which unite rather than divide and have put down roots in the same human soil. … Under these conditions, the phenomenon of migration helps foster the "dream" of a future of peace for all humanity. (December 15, 2003, No. 5)
If the "dream" of a peaceful world is shared by all, if the refugees' and migrants' contribution is properly evaluated, then humanity can become more and more of a universal family and our earth a true "common home". (December 15, 2003, No. 6)
World Migration Day 2003 Message (Pope John Paul II)
Being ever more deeply rooted in Christ, Christians must struggle to overcome any tendency to turn in on themselves, and learn to discern in people of other cultures the handiwork of God. Only genuine evangelical love will be strong enough to help communities pass from mere tolerance of others to real respect for their differences. Only Christ’s redeeming grace can make us victorious in the daily challenge of turning from egoism to altruism, from fear to openness, from rejection to solidarity. (October 24, 2002, no. 4)
Message for World Migration Day 2000
The Church hears the suffering cry of all who are uprooted from their own land, of families forcefully separated, of those who, in the rapid changes of our day, are unable to find a stable home anywhere. She senses the anguish of those without rights, without any security, at the mercy of every kind of exploitation, and she supports them in their unhappiness. (No.6)
[We are called to work ] so that every person's dignity is respected, the immigrant is welcomed as a brother or sister, and all humanity forms a united family which knows how to appreciate with discernment the different cultures which comprise it. (No. 5)
Ecclesia in America,
In its history, America has experienced many immigrations, as waves of men and women came to its various regions in the hope of a better future… The Church is well aware of the problems created by this situation and is committed to spare no effort in developing her own pastoral strategy among these immigrant people, in order to help them settle in their new land and to foster a welcoming attitude among the local population, in the belief that a mutual openness will bring enrichment to all. (January 23, 1999, No. 65)
Migrants should be met with a hospitable and welcoming attitude which can encourage them to become part of the Church's life, always with due regard for their freedom and their specific cultural identity. (January 23, 1999, No. 65)
Message for World Migration Day 1993
The families of migrants . . . should be able to find a homeland everywhere in the Church
The Love of Christ Towards Migrants – May 1, 2004 Vatican Instruction
In migrants the Church has always contemplated the image of Christ who said, “I was a stranger and you made me welcome” (Mt 25:35). Their condition is, therefore, a challenge to the faith and love of believers, who are called on to heal the evils caused by migration and discover the plan God pursues through it even when caused by obvious injustices. Migration brings together the manifold components of the human family and thus leads to the construction of an ever vaster and more varied society, almost a prolongation of that meeting of peoples and ethnic groups that, through the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, became ecclesial fraternity. (no. 12)
In the foreigner, a Christian sees not simply a neighbor, but the face of Christ Himself, who was born in a manger and fled into Egypt, where he was a foreigner, summing up and repeating in His own life the basic experience of His people (cf. Mt 2:13ff). Born away from home and coming from another land (cf. Lk 2:4-7), “he came to dwell among us” (cf. Jn 1:11,14) and spent His public life on the move, going through towns and villages (cf. Lk 13:22; Mt 9:35). After His resurrection, still a foreigner and unknown, He appeared on the way to Emmaus to two of His disciples, who only recognised Him at the breaking of the bread (cf. Lk 24:35). So Christians are followers of a man on the move “who has nowhere to lay his head (Mt 8:20; Lk 9:58)”. (no. 15)
Welcoming the stranger, a characteristic of the early Church, thus remains a permanent feature of the Church of God. It is practically marked by the vocation to be in exile, in diaspora, dispersed among cultures and ethnic groups without ever identifying itself completely with any of these. Otherwise it would cease to be the first-fruit and sign, the leaven and prophecy of the universal Kingdom and community that welcomes every human being without preference for persons or peoples. Welcoming the stranger is thus intrinsic to the nature of the Church itself and bears witness to its fidelity to the gospel. (no. 22)
For this reason the entire Church in the host country must feel concerned and engaged regarding immigrants. This means that local Churches must rethink pastoral care, programming it to help the faithful live their faith authentically in today’s new multicultural and pluri-religious context. With the help of social and pastoral workers, the local population should be made aware of the complex problems of migration and the need to oppose baseless suspicions and offensive prejudices against foreigners. (no. 41)
Today’s migrations constitute the greatest movement of persons, if not of peoples, of all time. They bring us into contact with men and women, our brothers and sisters, who for economic, cultural, political or religious reasons have left or have been compelled to leave their homes and end up, for the most part, in refugee camps, in a soulless megalopolis and in slums on the outskirts of cities, where they often share the marginalization of the unemployed, the ill-adjusted youth, and abandoned women. The migrant thirsts for some gesture that will make him feel welcome, recognized and acknowledged as a person. Even just a simple greeting is one of these. (no. 96)
The “foreigner” is God’s messenger who surprises us and interrupts the regularity and logic of daily life, bringing near those who are far away. In “foreigners” the Church sees Christ who “pitches His tent among us” (cf. Jn 1:14) and who “knocks at our door” (cf. Ap 3:20). This meeting – characterized by attention, welcome, sharing and solidarity, by the protection of the rights of migrants and of commitment to evangelize – reveals the constant solicitude of the Church, which discovers authentic values in migrants and considers them a great human resource. (no. 101)
The Progress of Peoples
We cannot insist too much on the duty of giving foreigners a hospitable reception. It is a duty imposed by human solidarity and by Christian charity.... They should be welcomed in the spirit of brotherly love, so that the concrete example of wholesome living may give them a high opinion of authentic Christian charity and of spiritual values. (1967, No.67)
Peace on Earth
Every human being has the right to freedom of movement and of residence within the confines of his own state. When there are just reasons in favor of it, he must be permitted to emigrate to other countries and to take up residence there. The fact that he is a citizen of a particular state does not deprive him of membership in the human family, nor of citizenship in that universal society, the common, world-wide fellowship of men. (April 11, 1963, No. 25)
It is not irrelevant to draw the attention of the world to the fact that these refugees are persons and all their rights as persons must be recognized. Refugees cannot lose these rights simply because they are deprived of citizenship of their own states. (April 11, 1963, No. 105)
On the Spiritual Care to Migrants
Since land everywhere offers the possibility of supporting a large number of people, the sovereignty of the State, although it must be respected, cannot be exaggerated to the point that access to this land is, for inadequate or unjustified reasons, denied to needy and decent people from other nations, provided of course, that the public wealth, considered very carefully, does not forbid this. (September 30, 1952, No. 51) Email us at mrs@usccb.org