Pope Benedict marked the UN day for refugees by urging civil authorities and all people of good will to welcome refugees and guarantee them dignified living conditions until they can freely and safely return to their homeland.
The pope’s comments were made during his Angelus message.
Speaking on Vatican radio, Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, the president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants reinforced the Pope’s comments and lamented the “hardening attitude of countries so that it seems that refugees are the problem, and not the reasons why they have to flee.”
The archbishop acknowledged that today’s refugees face new challenges because of the global political situation.
“Closing the door” is not the answer, the archbishop said.
Veglio said that more than one million people have fled Libya, with about 15,000 arriving in Italy, 290,000 in Tunisia, and 161,000 in Egypt.
The Archbishop also spoke of his concern about the situation in Sudan and in particular of children who know no other reality than that of being raised in a refugee camp.
The Archbishop noted the Church has consistently worked to help refugees and the internally displaced through the help of local bishops’ conferences, clergy and religious communities.
“In addition, Caritas, both at diocesan level or national level, is assisting in many different ways, from emergency aid to being directly involved in managing refugee camps,” he said, adding that the charity also works in “counseling of traumatized refugees, and the reintegration of child soldiers” into society.
“Countries should guarantee the rights of the refugees and act according to the spirit of the 1951 Convention, to assist those in need, to welcome them, and treat them on the same level as citizens.”
Sources