(Vatican Radio) Refugees and migrants are more than statistics, Pope Francis told members of the European Confederation and World Union of Jesuit Alumni and Alumnae; they are no different than our own family and friends.The Jesuit group had been participating in a conference in Rome this week entitled “Global Migration and Refugee Crisis: Time to Contemplate and Act”.Ann Schneible reports: In the face of tens of thousands of persons forcibly displaced worldwide, the Pope stressed that it is important to move beyond the statistics, and realize that migrants and refugees “are no different than our own family members and friends.”“Each of them has a name, a face, and a story,” the Holy Father said,” as well as an inalienable right to live in peace and to aspire to a better future for their sons and daughters.”The Pope challenged those present to be guided by Jesuit founder, St Ignatius of Loyola, in addressing the challenges which refug...
(Vatican Radio) Refugees and migrants are more than statistics, Pope Francis told members of the European Confederation and World Union of Jesuit Alumni and Alumnae; they are no different than our own family and friends.
In the face of tens of thousands of persons forcibly displaced worldwide, the Pope stressed that it is important to move beyond the statistics, and realize that migrants and refugees “are no different than our own family members and friends.”
“Each of them has a name, a face, and a story,” the Holy Father said,” as well as an inalienable right to live in peace and to aspire to a better future for their sons and daughters.”
The Pope challenged those present to be guided by Jesuit founder, St Ignatius of Loyola, in addressing the challenges which refugees face.
“At this place and time in history, there is great need for men and women who hear the cry of the poor and respond with mercy and generosity.”
The Holy Father said responses to the refugee crisis should be “through acts of mercy that promote their integration into the European context and beyond.”
“Remember that authentic hospitality is a profound gospel value that nurtures love and is our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism.”
Jesuits also have the important role of providing education for refugee children, many of whom grow up without access to schools, Pope Francis said.
By helping to “transform this educational reality,” he said, the conference participants can “build a stronger Europe and a brighter future for refugees.”
Finally, the Holy Father urged those present to transform their communities “into places of welcome where all God’s children have the opportunity not simply to survive, but to grow, flourish and bear fruit.”
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that "a negotiated peace is better than an endless war."CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O'Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff's residence in the Vatican.During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.O'Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: "Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an e...
An aerial view of Washington Square in San Francisco on May 22, 2020. / Credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).San Francisco police arrested a homeless man last Sunday for allegedly stabbing a parent from a nearby Catholic school after an altercation involving the two outside a historic Catholic church in the city. Twenty-five-year-old Marko Asaulyuk of San Francisco was charged with attempted murder and eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon.The Catholic school father, who was released from the hospital Sunday, only suffered a minor injury to his leg, Father Tho Bui, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church, told CNA Thursday in an email.San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was conferring the sacrament of confirmation on the parish school's students and students from a nearby parish during a noon Mass when a "disruptive man" entered the church, as Bui described him.The man was walking up and down the main aisle of the ...
The pro-life flag from the Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com). / Credit: Pro-Life Flag Project (www.prolifeflag.com)Toronto, Canada, Apr 25, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).The International Pro-Life Flag will not fly over Toronto Catholic schools this May.Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) trustees voted against an April 23 motion proposed by trustee Michael Del Grande that the pro-life flag fly outside all schools and the Catholic Education Centre during the month of May, just as the board voted to fly the Pride flag in June.Del Grande's motion was defeated at the April 23 board meeting when only Garry Tanuan supported Del Grande's motion. The eight other board members in attendance and the two student trustees opposed his proposal.Though Del Grande could not muster enough backing from his colleagues, his plan, which would have also directed all TCDSB schools to teach an exclusively pro-life curriculum on May 9, the day of the National March for Life, garnered bois...