Dear brothers and sisters, this month I would like us to pray for people fleeing their own countries.

The feeling of uprootedness or not knowing where they belong often accompanies the trauma experienced by people who are forced to flee their homeland because of war or poverty.

What is more, in some destination countries, migrants are viewed as threats, with fear.

Then the spectre of walls appears – walls on the earth separating families, and walls in hearts.

Christians cannot share this vision. Whoever welcomes a migrant welcomes Christ.

We must promote a social and political culture that protects the rights and dignity of migrants, a culture that promotes the possibility that they can achieve their full potential, and integrates them.

A migrant needs to be accompanied, promoted, and integrated.

Let us pray that migrants fleeing from war or hunger, forced to undertake journeys fraught with danger and violence, may find welcome and new living opportunities.

Francis

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