Pope: In the Christian community “no one is a stranger,” all are welcome

From CNS: 

The Catholic Church “is a mother without limits and without borders,” welcoming and assisting all of God’s children, particularly those fleeing violence, oppression and poverty, Pope Francis said.

Addressing the 300 participants in the Vatican-sponsored World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants, the pope said the church’s concern for the whole person motivates its material aid to immigrants and refugees, its offer of legal assistance and, especially, its pastoral outreach and offer of the sacraments.

In the Christian community, he said, “no one is a stranger and, therefore, everyone is worthy of being welcomed and supported.”

For those who have been uprooted from their homelands and face the daunting task of integration into a new society, the pope said, the church is called to be “a source of hope: She develops programs of education and orientation; she raises her voice in defense of migrants’ rights; she offers assistance, including material assistance, to everyone, without exception, so that all may be treated as children of God.”

Migration, he said, benefits migrants and the receiving country, and it stimulates the human conscience by being “a reminder of the need to eradicate inequality, injustice and abuses.”

Acknowledging the “painful and even tragic” travels of migrants toward a new land, Pope Francis said the desperate still see migration as a “journey of hope.”

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