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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis appealed for better treatment of child-migrants on Sunday. Speaking to pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with him, the Holy Father renewed his call for prayerful and concrete solidarity with minors forced to flee their homelands – especially for the children and adolescents forced to flee on their own, without the company of parents or older relatives.

“It is necessary to take every possible measure to ensure protection and defense to migrant children,” Pope Francis said, “as well as their integration,” into host societies. “These, our brothers and sisters, especially if unaccompanied, are exposed to many dangers,” the Pope said – dangers that include being taken and sold into slavery – often sexual slavery.

January 15^th is the 103^rd iteration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which this year is focused particularly on the plight of the youngest migrants under the theme: Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceles.

Pope Francis offered special greetings in this regard to the representatives of the many different  ethnic communities present in the city and in St. Peter’s Square for the occasion, particularly those of Catholic Rome. “Dear friends, I hope that you are able to live peacefully in the places that welcome you,” the Holy Father said, “respecting their laws and traditions and, at the same time, maintaining the values of your cultures of origin.” The Pope went on to say, “The encounter of different cultures is always an enrichment for everyone.”

Offering thanks to the Migrantes office of the Diocese of Rome and those who work with migrants to welcome them and accompany them in their difficulties, and encouraging everyone so committed to continue in their work, Pope Francis commended the example of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the patron saint of migrants, who passed into eternal life 100 years ago this year. “This courageous sister dedicated her life to bringing the love of Christ to those who were far from home and family,” he said, “Her witness,” said Pope Francis, “helps us to take care of the brother from a far-off land, in whom Jesus is present, often suffering, rejected and humiliated.”

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Vatican City, Jan 15, 2017 / 05:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis pointed to St. Frances Cabrini as an example of how to treat foreigners, calling her a “courageous” woman who knew how to bring God’s love to those who were lonely and in hardship.

After praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 15, Pope Francis sent a special greeting to members of different ethnic communities gathered who had gathered in honor of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

“I wish that you can live peacefully in the towns that welcome you, respecting their laws and traditions and, at the same time, maintaining the values of your cultures of origin,” the Pope said, adding that “the meeting of different cultures is always an enrichment for all!”

Speaking to those who work directly with migrants, the Pope thanked them for the welcome and accompaniment they provide to newcomers, and encouraged them to continue their efforts “always remembering the example of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini,” who is remembered in a special way this year, which marks the centenary of her death.

“This courageous Sister dedicated her life to bringing the love of Christ to those who were far from their homeland and families,” he said, adding that her witness can help us learn “to take care of our foreign brother, in whom Jesus is present, often suffering, rejected and humiliated.”

St. Cabrini, more commonly known as “Mother Cabrini,” was an Italian missionary who spent much of her life working with Italian immigrants in the United States. Though she had a deathly fear of water and drowning, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 times in service of the Church and the people she was assisting.

After arriving to the U.S. she wasted no time getting to work, and traveled not only overseas, but also throughout the U.S. setting up orphanages, hospitals, convents, and schools for the often marginalized Italian immigrants.

Eventually, St. Frances became a naturalized U.S. citizen. She died in 1917 and was canonized in 1946, just before a new wave of immigrants began to arrive in the U.S. Due to her tireless service to struggling foreigners, she was named patron of immigrants.

Announced Oct. 13, the theme for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees is “Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceless,” and is meant to draw attention to the plight of the many children who suffer due to various forms of slavery and exploitation.

Speaking of the theme, Pope Francis said these “small brothers and sisters of ours, especially those who are unaccompanied, are exposed to so much danger.” Because of this, we must “adopt every possible measure in order to guarantee child migrants protection and defense, as well as their integration.”

In his address before the Angelus, the Pope focused on the day’s Gospel passage from John in which John the Baptist, in seeing Jesus come toward him, says “behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

With these words John is bearing witness to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, he said, and recounting the scene, noted how until that moment John had been preaching the coming of the Messiah and encouraging his followers to repent, since the time was nearly at hand.

Then the moment arrives when Jesus “presents himself on the bank of the river, in the midst of the people, sinners – like each of us,” Francis said, noting that this was Jesus’ first public act since leaving his home in Nazareth.

When the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove as the voice of the Father proclaims that he is his beloved Son, John recognizes it as the sign that he’s been waiting for, and that Jesus is in fact the Messiah.

John, he said, was “baffled,” because the Messiah was manifested in what for him was “an unthinkable way: in the midst of sinners, baptized like them, rather, for them.”

“But the Holy Spirit illuminates John and makes him understand that this is how God’s justice is fulfilled, how his design of salvation is fulfilled.” Jesus is the Messiah, showing himself not with “the power of this world,” but rather “as the Lamb of God who takes upon himself and takes away the sins of the world.”

Francis then explained that his reason for making such a lengthy, detailed reflection on the passage is because “it’s decisive!”

“It’s decisive for our faith and it’s decisive also for the mission of the Church,” he said, explaining that in every age the Church “is called to do what John the Baptist did: to show Jesus to the people.”

When during Mass the priest presents the bread and wine that have become the Body and Blood of Christ to the people, this act “act represents the entire mission of the Church, which does not announce herself, but announces Christ; does not bring herself, but brings Christ.”

This, Pope Francis said, is because “it is he and only he who saves his people from sin, frees them and guides them to the land of life and freedom.”

On the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis pointed to St. Frances Cabrini as an example of how to treat foreigners, calling her a “courageous” woman who knew how to bring God’s love to those who were lonely and in hardship.

After praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square Jan. 15, Pope Francis sent a special greeting to members of different ethnic communities gathered who had gathered in honor of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

“I wish that you can live peacefully in the towns that welcome you, respecting their laws and traditions and, at the same time, maintaining the values of your cultures of origin,” the Pope said, adding that “the meeting of different cultures is always an enrichment for all!”

Speaking to those who work directly with migrants, the Pope thanked them for the welcome and accompaniment they provide to newcomers, and encouraged them to continue their efforts “always remembering the example of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini,” who is remembered in a special way this year, which marks the centenary of her death.

“This courageous Sister dedicated her life to bringing the love of Christ to those who were far from their homeland and families,” he said, adding that her witness can help us learn “to take care of our foreign brother, in whom Jesus is present, often suffering, rejected and humiliated.”

St. Cabrini, more commonly known as “Mother Cabrini,” was an Italian missionary who spent much of her life working with Italian immigrants in the United States. Though she had a deathly fear of water and drowning, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 times in service of the Church and the people she was assisting.

After arriving to the U.S. she wasted no time getting to work, and traveled not only overseas, but also throughout the U.S. setting up orphanages, hospitals, convents, and schools for the often marginalized Italian immigrants.

Eventually, St. Frances became a naturalized U.S. citizen. She died in 1917 and was canonized in 1946, just before a new wave of immigrants began to arrive in the U.S. Due to her tireless service to struggling foreigners, she was named patron of immigrants.

Announced Oct. 13, the theme for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees is “Child Migrants, the Vulnerable and the Voiceless,” and is meant to draw attention to the plight of the many children who suffer due to various forms of slavery and exploitation.

Speaking of the theme, Pope Francis said these “small brothers and sisters of ours, especially those who are unaccompanied, are exposed to so much danger.” Because of this, we must “adopt every possible measure in order to guarantee child migrants protection and defense, as well as their integration.”

In his address before the Angelus, the Pope focused on the day’s Gospel passage from John in which John the Baptist, in seeing Jesus come toward him, says “behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

With these words John is bearing witness to the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, he said, and recounting the scene, noted how until that moment John had been preaching the coming of the Messiah and encouraging his followers to repent, since the time was nearly at hand.

Then the moment arrives when Jesus “presents himself on the bank of the river, in the midst of the people, sinners – like each of us,” Francis said, noting that this was Jesus’ first public act since leaving his home in Nazareth.

When the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove as the voice of the Father proclaims that he is his beloved Son, John recognizes it as the sign that he’s been waiting for, and that Jesus is in fact the Messiah.

John, he said, was “baffled,” because the Messiah was manifested in what for him was “an unthinkable way: in the midst of sinners, baptized like them, rather, for them.”

“But the Holy Spirit illuminates John and makes him understand that this is how God’s justice is fulfilled, how his design of salvation is fulfilled.” Jesus is the Messiah, showing himself not with “the power of this world,” but rather “as the Lamb of God who takes upon himself and takes away the sins of the world.”

Francis then explained that his reason for making such a lengthy, detailed reflection on the passage is because “it’s decisive!”

“It’s decisive for our faith and it’s decisive also for the mission of the Church,” he said, explaining that in every age the Church “is called to do what John the Baptist did: to show Jesus to the people.”

When during Mass the priest presents the bread and wine that have become the Body and Blood of Christ to the people, this act “act represents the entire mission of the Church, which does not announce herself, but announces Christ; does not bring herself, but brings Christ.”

This, Pope Francis said, is because “it is he and only he who saves his people from sin, frees them and guides them to the land of life and freedom.”

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Washington D.C., Jan 15, 2017 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday, the U.S. bishops’ migration chair criticized the Obama administration’s denial of decades-old special protections for Cuban migrants to the U.S.

“I am disappointed over the Administration's sudden policy change to end the 'Wet Foot/ Dry Foot' policy for Cuban arrivals,” Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, who heads the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Migration, stated on Friday.

“While we have welcomed normalizing relations with Cuba, the violation of basic human rights remains a reality for some Cubans and the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy helped to afford them a way to seek refuge in the United States,” he continued.

Previously, as part of the policy in place since the 1990s, Cubans who successfully entered the U.S. without a visa could be paroled for a year and then would be eligible for residency. Those migrants who were intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard on their way to the U.S. were returned to Cuba.

Now that policy has been repealed and Cuban migrants found to have entered the U.S. without a visa will be deported back if they do not qualify for asylum.

Jeh Johnson, the Secretary of Homeland Security, announced the policy shift late Thursday afternoon in a phone conference with reporters. He said it was “part of the normalization of relations with the government of Cuba” and was meant to make the policy “consistent with our laws and our immigration enforcement priorities.”

Now, as administration officials explained on Thursday, they “will be treated like everybody else.” They will be able to claim asylum and have a hearing.

If fewer than four years have passed between a migrant’s departure from Cuba and the start of their deportation proceedings in the U.S., “the Cuban government has agreed to take that person back,” Johnson said.

White House deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes explained that a recent increase in migration from Cuba to the U.S., due more to a thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations than political repression, precipitated the policy change.

“What we've seen, therefore, is a steady increase to some 40,000 Cubans granted parole in fiscal year 2015; 54,000 roughly in fiscal year 2016,” he said.

Also, he said more Cubans were trying to access the U.S. through Central America and the U.S.-Mexico border and “that was creating both humanitarian challenges and strains within those countries as large numbers of Cubans were essentially stuck there and then facing a very difficult – and dangerous – journey to our southern border in some cases.”

President Obama said the old policy “was designed for a different era” in his Thursday statement.

“During my Administration, we worked to improve the lives of the Cuban people – inside of Cuba – by providing them with greater access to resources, information and connectivity to the wider world,” he stated of his administration’s move to re-open diplomatic relations with Cuba and the loosening of travel restrictions and economic sanctions.

“Sustaining that approach is the best way to ensure that Cubans can enjoy prosperity, pursue reforms, and determine their own destiny. As I said in Havana, the future of Cuba should be in the hands of the Cuban people,” Obama said.

Bishop Vasquez, however, lamented Thursday’s policy change as detrimental to Cubans seeking a better life in the U.S., particularly those fleeing religious or political repression.

“Cuban Americans have been one of the most successful immigrant groups in U.S. history. The protections afforded them were a model of humane treatment,” he said.

Now it “will make it more difficult for vulnerable populations in Cuba, such as asylum seekers, children, and trafficking victims, to seek protection.”

Even in recent years, human rights abuses have continued under the Castro regime, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom warned in December.

“While USCIRF has noted that some improvements have been made in recent years in the area of religious freedom, our Annual Reports document the Cuban government’s continued violations,” they stated.

“Areas of concern include: harassment of religious leaders and laity, interference in religious groups’ internal affairs, and preventing democracy and human rights activists from participating in religious activities. The government also has threatened to close and confiscate church properties and reportedly has demolished some churches.”

 

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