Immigrants can make important
contributions to society, Pope says
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY, Nov. 10 (CNS) -- People should not look upon immigrants as problems, but as fellow brothers and sisters who can be valuable contributors to society, Pope Benedict XVI said.
The migration of peoples represents a chance "to highlight the unity of the human family and the value of welcoming, hospitality and love for one's neighbor," he said, during an audience with participants of the Sixth World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees taking place Nov. 9-12 at the Vatican.
The Pope underlined the tragic difficulties many migrants face in their efforts to survive or improve living conditions for themselves and their families.
"The economic crisis, with the enormous growth in unemployment, diminishes the possibilities of employment and increases the number of those who aren't able to find even unsteady work," he said.
The economic divide between industrialized and poor countries continues to grow, he said, and many people have no choice but to leave their homeland in search of a living -- even if it means accepting inhuman working conditions and experiencing great difficulties fitting in someplace new with different language, culture and rules.
Many immigrants today are fleeing "humanly unacceptable" living conditions, but they are not finding "the reception they hoped for elsewhere," said the Pope.
Globalization means that working for the common good must extend beyond national borders, he said. True development comes through solidarity, addressing the unequal distribution of the world's resources, "dialogue between cultures and respect for legitimate differences," he said.
The Pope said today's phenomenon of world migration can offer that needed opportunity to meet new cultures, foster understanding between peoples, build peace and promote development that benefits all nations.
Christians must be open to listening to the word of God who calls people to imitate Christ in caring for others and to "never be tempted to despise and reject people who are different," he said.
Conforming one's life to Christ's means seeing every man and woman as a brother or sister, children of the one God, he said.
This sense of brotherhood leads to being caring and hospitable toward others, especially those in need, he said.
"Every Christian community that is faithful to Jesus' teachings cannot but feel respect and concern for all people ... especially for those who find themselves in difficulty," he said.
"This is why the Church invites all Christians to open their hearts to migrants and their families knowing that they are not just a 'problem,' but are a 'resource'" that can contribute to true development and the good of all people, he said.
Here is a full translation of the Pope's address:
Eminent Cardinals,
Venerated brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,
Dear brothers and sisters!
I am happy to welcome you at the start of the World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees.
I greet first of all your Pontifical Counsel, Mons. Antonio Maria Vegliò, whom I thank for the kind expressions with which he introduced our meeting.
I greet the Secretary, members, consultants and officials of the Pontifical Council for the Pasotral Care of Migrants and Refugees.
I address a deferential greeting to the Honorable Renato Schifani, president of the Senate of the Republic.
And I greet you all who are present. To each of you goes my appreciation for the commitment and concern with which you work in a social field that is so complex and sensitive, offering support to those who, out of free choice or by force, have left their country of origin to emigrate to other lands.
The theme of the Conference - "A response to the migration phenomenon in the era of globalization" - testifies to the particular context in which migrations are taking place in our time.
In fact, if the migration phenomenon is as old as the history of mankind, it has never stood out so much for the consistency and complexity of the problem as today.
It now concerns almost all the nations of the world and takes place in the vast process of globalization. Men, women, children, young and old, in the millions, face the tragedies of emigration sometimes simply to survive, before even seeking better conditions of life for themselves and their families.
In fact, the economic disparity between the poor and industrialized countries continues to grow. The world economic crisis, with the enormous growth in unemployment, reduces the possibilities fro gainful work, and increases the number of those who cannot find any work, not even temporary precarious jobs.
Thus so many are constrained to abandon their own lands and communities of origin. They are ready to accept work conditions that are not at all consonant with human dignity, along with an effortful insertion into their host society made worse by differences in language, culture and social class.
The condition of migrants, and worse, that of refugees, calls to mind, in a way, the plight of the ancient Biblical people who, fleeing slavery in Egypt with dreams of the promised Land, crossed the Red Sea, and instaad of reaching the desired goal right away, had to face the harshness of the desert.
Today, many migrants abandon their country to escape conditions of life that are humanly unacceptable, but without finding elsewhere the welcome that they expect. [Especially if they are illegal immigrants!]
In the face of such complex situations, how can we not stop to reflect on the consequences of a society fundamentally based only on material development? In the encyclical Caritas in veritate, I noted that true development is only that which is integral, namely, that which concerns every man and the whole man.
Authentic development always takes on a fraternal character. In effect, in a society that is being globalized, the common good and the commitment to it, as I also noted in Caritas in veritate, cannot fail to take on the dimensions of the entire human family, namely, thw community of peoples and nations (cfr No, 7).
Rather, the process of globalization itself, as the Servant of God John Paul II underscored opportunely, can constitute a proiptious occasion to promote integral development, but only "if cultural differences are accepted as an occasion for encounter and dialog, and if the unequal distribution of world resources can provoke a new consciousness of the need for the solidarity that should unite the human family" (Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, in Teachings XXII, 2, 1999, p 998).
Consequently it is necessary to respond adequately to the great social changes under way, keeping clear that there cannot be effective development without promoting the encounter of peoples, dialog among cultures, and respect of legitimate differences.
In this perspective, why should we not consider the present world phenomenon of migration as a condition favorable to understanding among peoples and for the construction of peace and development that would involve every nation?
This is what i wished to point out in the Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees during the Pauline Year: Migrations tend to bring to light the unity of the human family, the value of welcome, hospitality, and love of neighbor.
But this must be translated in daily gestures of sharing, of compassion and concern for others, especially the needy. In order to be welcoming to each other, St. Paul teaches, Christians must be available to listen to the Word of God which calls us to imitate Christ and stay close to him.
Only this way can they be concerned for their neighbor and never yield to the temptation of scort or rejection of those who are different.
Conformed to Christ, every man and woman is seen as brother and sister, children of the same Father. Such a treasure of brotherhood will make them "attentive in hospitality, the firstborn daughter of agape" (cfr Insegnamenti IV, 2 [2008], 176-180).
Dear brothers and sisters, faithful to the teaching of Jesus, every Christian community can only have respect and attention for all men, created in the image and likeness of God, and redeemed by the Blood of Christ - and more so when they are in difficulty.
That is why the Church invites the faithful to open their hearts to migrants and their families, knowing that they are not just a 'problem', but that they constitute a 'resource' that we must learn to value appropriately for the progress of mankind and authentic development.
To each of you, I renew my thanks for the service that you render to the Church and to society, and I invoke the maternal protection of Mary on each of your activities in behalf of migrants and refugees.
For my part, I assure you of my prayers, while I gladly bless you and all those who form part of the great family of migrants and refugees.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/11/2009 01:43]