Exclusion of migrants is red flag of society in moral decline

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Being indifferent to or excluding migrants is a sign of a deteriorating morality that will soon spread and risk marginalising everyone who fails to fit in, Pope Francis said.

In fact, the Christian response of welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating does not apply only to migrants and refugees, but to all vulnerable people living on the “existential peripheries,” he said.

Today’s challenge is not just about migrants, “but about all of us and about the present and future of the human family,” the Pope said. Through migrants, refugees and all vulnerable people, “the Lord is calling us to conversion, to be set free from exclusivity, indifference and the throw-away culture,” and embrace more fully an authentic Christian life, building a world “that is more and more in accord with God’s plan.”

The Pope made the comments in a message on the theme of It is not just about migrants for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees 2019; the text was released at the Vatican May 27 during a news conference.

The Vatican observation of World Day for Migrants and Refugees is September 29, which is also the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

Migrants eat at a Catholic-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 10. Being indifferent to or excluding migrants is a sign of a deteriorating morality that will soon spread and risk marginalising everyone who fails to fit in, Pope Francis said. (CNS photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters)