This Sunday, Pope Francis demanded a “right not to migrate”, which allows people to remain in their lands with dignity, but asked that those who have to do so be welcomed and integrated.
“Emigrating should be a free choice and never the only possible one,” he said during the Sunday angelus on the occasion of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, held today in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican.
The appeal was launched after prayers and after his visit to the French city of Marseille, known for being multi-ethnic and multi-religious, where he participated in the Mediterranean Meetings.
“In fact, the right to migrate has become an obligation for many, but there should be the right not to migrate and remain in their homeland,” considered the Pope, in his speech delivered at the window of the apostolic palace.
This Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrates the 109th World Day of Migrants, this year under the motto “free to migrate or stay.”
“It is necessary that every man and woman be guaranteed the possibility of living with dignity in the society in which they find themselves,” the Pope stressed, lamenting that “misery, war and the climate crisis lead many people to have to flee” from their homes and countries.
“That is why we are called to create communities prepared and open to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors,” he said, also asking the faithful to pray for Ukraine and its people, who “suffer so much” in the war. .
During his trip to Marseille, Francis called on Europe to act responsibly in the face of the migratory phenomenon and insisted that migrants who risk their lives at sea to reach Europe “are not invaders.”
The Pope also criticized the “fanaticism and indifference” towards immigrants seeking a better life in Europe and thanked the organizations that welcome them after crossing the Mediterranean.
Source: TSF
