According to the UN, there are around 260 million migrants worldwide; and every year this number increases by 50 million.
On Sept. 29 Pope Francis will celebrate the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. This year's motto is “It is not just about Migrants.”
He has just published a message for that day, in which he say today's world “is increasingly becoming more elitist and cruel towards the excluded.” He adds that “the cause of migrants that is at stake; it is not just about them, but about all of us, and about the present and future of the human family.”
In preparation for the upcoming day, the Migrants and Refugees section of the Vatican has prepared this multimedia campaign. It offers monthly reflections on the themes related to Pope Francis' message.
The pope's proposal has four steps: welcome, protect, promote and integrate people who are migrating. He had this to say in 2018 for World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
POPE FRANCIS
2018/01/15
“It is an invitation to overcome our fears, so as to encounter the other, to welcome, to know and to acknowledge him or her. It is an invitation which offers the opportunity to draw near to the other and see where and how he or she lives.”
The Vatican explains this day wants to stress migrants and refugees should not be treated as a 'single issue' but an issue that involves everyone. It especially wants to address modern day consumerist mentalities and fast-paced life that fail to see the whole person.
For Sept. 29, the pope will celebrate in St. Peter's Square a special Mass. He is inviting migrants, refugees, survivors of human trafficking, and internally displaced persons, along with the organizations that help them.
The Vatican also encourages dioceses and Christians across the world to celebrate this day in order to give visible expression to the welcome the Church offers “to the 'stranger' in Christ and Christ in the stranger.”
