Pope warns against exclusivist
policies, ahead of Migrants & Refugees Day
In a video message sent ahead of the World Day of Migrants
& Refugees, Pope Francis warns against the proliferation of cruel attitudes
towards the excluded and hypocritical talk about peace.
By Devin Watkins
“It is not just about migrants. It is about not excluding
anyone.”
Pope Francis made that statement in a video message sent on
Tuesday to help Christians prepare for the 105th World Day of
Migrants and Refugees, held on 29 September 2019.
The Holy Father opened his message with Jesus’ words in the
Gospel of Matthew 18:10: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my
heavenly Father.”
Cruelty towards excluded
“Today’s world is daily becoming more elitist,” the Pope
noted, “and every day more cruel towards those its excludes.”
With those words of warning, Pope Francis reflected on
situations that force people to leave their homelands.
Developing countries, he said, exhaust their natural and
human resources for the benefit of a few privileged markets.
Peace spoken, arms sold
Pope Francis added that wars affect only a few regions of
the world but that other nations sell arms which stoke these conflicts.
“The manufacture and sale of arms occurs in other regions,
which then refuse to take care of refugees – they don’t want to – and don’t
accept the refugees that such conflicts create.”
Often, he said, words of peace are spoken but weapons are
sold. “Can we really speak so hypocritically in these terms?”
The poor and the most vulnerable suffer the consequences of
this attitude, he said. They are the same who are “not allowed to sit at table
and receive only the ‘crumbs’ left over from the banquet.”
Authentic, inclusive development
Pope Francis said the Catholic Church has an obligation to
speak up fearlessly on behalf of these people “whom we exclude”.
“Exclusivist development makes the rich richer and the poor
poorer,” he said.
He contrasted this type of economic advancement with a more
inclusive, authentic development that includes all men and women around the
world and is aware of the needs of future generations.
“True development,” the Pope concluded, “is inclusive and
fruitful, and directed towards the future.”
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