A Vatican official has come out swinging in defense of Pope Francis’ insistence on the topic of immigration, accusing the Pope’s critics of being “obsessed” with national security and border control.
Asked in an interview with Italian media whether the Pope isn’t “obsessed” with the immigration question, Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, undersecretary for the Vatican’s office of Migrants and Refugees, responded that it isn’t Pope Francis who is obsessive, but rather his critics.
Many would say that the modern “obsession with borders and national security to the detriment of the rights and dignity of refugees and refugees” is excessive, the priest declared. And for many others, “the media predilection for sensational stories that feed xenophobia and isolationism is also excessive,” he added.
For many people, “the way in which politicians create or exaggerate a sense of crisis to obtain short-term advantages is decidedly excessive,” he said.
Anybody who thinks the Pope’s focus on migrants is obsessive “should give the current situation a thoughtful look,” Father Czerny said. If anything is excessive, “it is the slowness with which the ‘developed’ world responds to such obvious and pressing needs,” many would say.
Citing the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, the priest said that “the rise of nationalism and xenophobia must be counted among the new dangers for global peace and stability.” READ MORE
Comment: Acts 17:26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
