The Roman Catholic Church observes the last Sunday in September as World Day for Migrants and Refugees. This year marked the 107th such observance. The 2021 message, with its emphasis on solidarity, was titled ‘Towards an Ever Wider We.’ Pope Francis expressed his fear that after the pandemic the world would plunge into more feverish forms of consumerism and egotistical self-preservation. He called on all people to embrace each other without fear and to work towards making the Church and society more inclusive. A close reading of the document shows that the four verbs that underline his thinking on mobile people are clearly present: protection, welcome, promotion and integration.

Paper by the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office