Pope calls for guarantees of dignified life for all to avoid forced migration

At the Angelus on Migrant and Refugee Day Pope Francis thanks the Italian Church for welcoming initiatives. "God does not count on our goodness but on the generosity of His grace".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Migrating should be a free choice, never the only possible one," Pope Francis said today at the Angelus, addressing the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square on the day in which the Catholic Church celebrates the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, dedicated this year to the theme "Free to choose whether to migrate or stay"

“The right to migrate - commented Francis - has become an obligation for many while there should be the right not to migrate in order to remain in one's own land. It is necessary that every man and every woman is guaranteed the opportunity to live a dignified life in the country where they are. Unfortunately, poverty, war and the climate crisis force many people to flee. Therefore we are all called to build communities ready and open to welcome, promote, accompany and integrate those who knock on our doors".

In this sense, after recalling that this was also one of the key themes of the trip made in recent days to Marseille, the pontiff expressly wanted to thank the "bishops of the Italian Episcopal Conference who do everything to welcome".

Commenting on today's liturgy which proposes the parable of the owner of the vineyard who goes out from the early hours of dawn until the evening to call some workers but, in the end, pays everyone the same (see Mt 20:1-16), he urged look to God who "does not wait for our efforts to come to us, does not test us to evaluate our merits before looking for us, does not give up if we are late in responding to him; on the contrary, He Himself took the initiative and in Jesus "came out" towards us, to show us His love for Him".

"Brothers and sisters - added the Pope - sometimes we risk having a "mercantile" relationship with God, focusing more on our skill than on the generosity of his grace. Sometimes even as a Church, instead of going out at every hour of the day and open our arms to everyone, we can feel at the top of the class, judging others as distant, without thinking that God also loves them with the same love he has for us.

Hence the invitation to ask ourselves: "Do I, as a Christian, know how to reach out to others? And am I generous towards everyone, do I know how to give that "extra" of understanding and forgiveness, as Jesus did with me?".

Finally, in his greetings to the faithful, the Pope renewed the invitation to participate in the ecumenical prayer vigil which will be held on Saturday 30 September in St. Peter's Square in preparation for the Synodal Assembly which will open on 4 October. Finally he once again invited us to remember “the tormented Ukraine; let us pray for these people who suffer so much."

• Vatican
• Angelus
• Pope Francis
• Migrants