Pope Francis has called for welfare and protection to be given to thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing into the United States.
This was in a papal message sent to a Mexico-Holy See colloquium on human migration and development, taking place in Mexico City.
Pope Francis noted that the number of children and young people arriving at the US/Mexico border is increasing day by day.
They are trying to escape poverty and violence, the Pope said.
“This humanitarian emergency requires, as a first urgent measure, these children be welcomed and protected,” Pope Francis said.
“These measures, however, will not be sufficient, unless they are accompanied by policies that inform people about the dangers of such a journey and, above all, that promote development in their countries of origin,” he continued.
“Finally, this challenge demands the attention of the entire international community so that new forms of legal and secure migration may be adopted,” the Pope noted.
Speaking of migrants in general, the Pope observed that “many of their rights are violated” and they “continue to be the subject of racist and xenophobic attitudes”.
The Pope reiterated a message he sent out for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees earlier this year.
He called for a change of attitude towards migrants and refugees by everyone.
Francis said the fear and indifference of what he termed “throwaway culture” should be replaced with a commitment to building a more just and fraternal world.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has called on the Obama administration to let the children stay in the US.
“The prospect of the United States sending vulnerable children back into the hands of violent criminals in their countries raises troubling questions about our moral character,” said Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, chairman of the bishops’ migration committee.
In April, a delegation of US bishops celebrated Mass near a border fence with Mexico and distributed Communion through the wires.
Sources
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