The Christian Bible tells the story of two men, Peter and Cornelius, utterly divided by religious belief and culture, who in encountering each other discovered a truth about God\u2019s common will for them that neither had previously grasped. They learnt that the Holy Spirit brings down walls and unites those who might think that they have nothing in common.<\/p>\n
All around the world, women, men, and children are forced by violence, persecution, natural and human-caused disasters, famine, and other factors, to leave their homelands. Their desire to escape suffering is stronger than the barriers erected to block their way. The opposition by some countries to the migration of forcibly displaced people will not keep those who undergo unbearable suffering from leaving their homes.<\/p>\n
Wealthy countries cannot evade their responsibility for the wounds inflicted on our planet \u2013 environmental disasters, the arms trade, developmental inequality \u2013 that drive forced migration and human trafficking. While it is true that the arrival of migrants in more developed countries can present real and significant challenges, it can also be an opportunity for openness and change. Pope Francis poses this question to us: \u201cHow can we experience these changes not as obstacles to genuine development, but rather as opportunities for genuine human, social and spiritual growth?\u201d Societies that find the courage and the vision to go beyond the fear of foreigners and migrants soon discover the riches that migrants bring with them, and always have.<\/p>\n
If we, as a human family, insist on only ever seeing refugees as a burden, we deprive ourselves of the opportunities for solidarity that are also always opportunities for mutual learning, mutual enrichment, and mutual growth.<\/p>\n
It is not enough for Christians to profess to love Christ: belief is authentic only if it is expressed in loving action. We are one Body of Christ, undivided. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, \u201cIt is only through Jesus Christ that we are brothers and sisters of one another\u2026. Through Christ our mutual belonging is real, integral, and for all time.\u201d If we are one body, we are knitted into a solidarity that defines us and makes demands of us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Signs of solidarity can be multiplied beyond the borders of religion and culture. Meeting believers of other persuasions encourages us to deepen our knowledge of our own faith, and in our encounter with our refugee brothers and sisters, God speaks to us and blesses us as He did Cornelius and Peter.<\/p>\n
In every genuine encounter, an exchange of gifts takes place. Sharing with others what we have and own, we discover that all is given freely by God. At the same time, in welcoming those whom we encounter, we meet the God who is always present with the vulnerable, the marginalized, as well as all other people.<\/p>\n
Increasingly around the world, we witness the building of walls to keep out the displaced: not just physical walls, but also walls of fear, prejudice, hatred, and ideology. Let us all, as one human family, strive to build bridges of solidarity rather than walls of division. Our refugee sisters and brothers present us with opportunities for mutual enrichment and flourishing: it is God who brings us together.<\/p>\n
With the development of new international frameworks \u2013 Global Compacts on Migrants and on Refugees in 2018, countries should not only ensure a more effective responsibility-sharing in response to large movements, but they should also accept the opportunity to recognize and emphasize the significant contributions that refugees and migrants make to their host communities, in order to make true solidarity a lived reality for those seeking protection and those following their obligations to give it alike.<\/p>\n
ACT Alliance
\nAlboan
\nAnglican Alliance
\nCaritas Internationalis
\nCatholic Charities USA
\nCommunity of Sant\u2019Egidio
\nDominicans for Justice and Peace
\nEntreculturas
\nInternational Union of Superior Generals (UISG)
\nFranciscans International
\nJesuit Refugee Service
\nLutheran World Federation
\nPax Christi International
\nScalabrinian Missionaries
\nScalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN)
\nTalitha Kum \u2013 Worldwide Network of Religious Life against Trafficking in Persons
\nUnion of Superior Generals (USG)
\nVivat International
\nVoices of Faith
\nWorld Union of Catholic Women\u2019s Organizations (WUCWO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is not enough for Christians to profess to love Christ: belief is authentic only if it is expressed in loving action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[260],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4880"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5225,"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4880\/revisions\/5225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jrs.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}