Vatican spokesman: treat migrants with dignity

December 12, 2011

Days after the Holy See became a full member of the International Organization for Migration, the director of the Holy See Press Office devoted his weekly editorial to migrants.

“The economic crisis does not diminish the problems of migration, but only worsens them from different points of view,” said Father Federico Lombardi, who added:

And so the flow of men and women who leave their countries under the pressure of poverty, oppression or natural disaster, even at the risk of life, across the Mediterranean or the Red Sea, or the deserts of Sinai or of Arizona, continues and will continue. How can they be protected, how can they be welcomed, how can they be given the opportunity for a safe and dignified life, so that they are seen not as a threat but as forerunners and bridge-builders in the melting pot of global humanity?

“The Holy See speaks out in defense of these rights, based on the firm conviction of the dignity of every human person,” Father Lombardi continued. “But it speaks, too from the real-world experience many Catholic organizations that operate in this field on every continent, giving weight and credibility to its words and its proposals. We must give migrants the opportunity to live and to thrive, working together with them to build a common future.”

 

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Further information:

• Fr. Lombardi editorial: "With the migrants" (Vatican Radio)
• Holy See joins International Organization for Migration (CWN, 12/6)