Pope Francis: Migrants and Refugees Are ‘Emblems of Exclusion’

Pope Francis said Monday that migrants represent all those who are excluded, oppressed, and marginalized in today’s society.

In his annual message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the pope offered a series of reflections revolving around the theme: “It is not just about migrants.”

It’s not just about migrants, he said. It’s about “our fears”; it’s about “charity”; it’s about “our humanity”; it’s about “seeing that no one is excluded”; it’s about “putting the last in the first place”; it’s about “the whole person, about all people”; it’s about “building the city of God and man”; it’s about “all of us, and about the present and future of the human family.”

“The most economically advanced societies are witnessing a growing trend towards extreme individualism which, combined with a utilitarian mentality and reinforced by the media, is producing a ‘globalization of indifference,’” the pope said.

Newsom’s ‘Golden State Start’ promises 400 free diapers per baby as California grapples with budget woes

U.S. military kills two alleged narco-terrorists in lethal strike on drug vessel in Eastern Pacific

Reckoning: Islamic Group with Terror Ties Set to Be Investigated by GOP

Trump Preparing to Fire FDA Commissioner Amid Nicotine Dispute and Pro-Life Outcry: Report

Video shows ICE officers arrest alleged MS-13 gang member described as ‘known suspected terrorist’ in Florida

Lawmaker Slaps Phone Out of Reporter’s Hand During Skirmish Over Data Center Story

Green Politician Wants to Limit Nursing Home Residents to 2.8 Oz of Meat per Week Due to Climate Change – That’s Less Than 1 Big Mac … Per Week

Obama Slammed for ‘Disgusting’ Decision to Speak at Event Organized by Man with Troubling Past

Did You Catch It? Trump’s Nat’l Day of Prayer Message Said Something Vital That No Other Day of Prayer Message Ever Said

Utah Supreme Court justice resigns amid probe into alleged relationship with redistricting attorney

Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: Men admitted to all-women’s school, bizarre campus confrontation

James Comey criminal trial over ’86 47′ post set for July 15

Georgia mayor fires entire police department after officers complain about his wife in dispute

Virginia Democrat who helped lead state’s redistricting push also played part in killing it

Declassified Apollo mission UFO files challenge long-running Moon landing conspiracy theories

“In this scenario, migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking have become emblems of exclusion,” he said. “In addition to the hardships that their condition entails, they are often looked down upon and considered the source of all society’s ills.”

“That is why it is not just about migrants,” he said. “When we show concern for them, we also show concern for ourselves, for everyone; in taking care of them, we all grow; in listening to them, we also give voice to a part of ourselves that we may keep hidden because it is not well regarded nowadays.”

In his message, the pope reiterated his conviction that resistance to mass migration is fueled by fear.

“The signs of meanness we see around us heighten our fear of ‘the other,’ the unknown, the marginalized, the foreigner,” he said. “We see this today in particular, faced with the arrival of migrants and refugees knocking on our door in search of protection, security and a better future.”

These doubts and fears “condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even – without realizing it – racist,” he said. “In this way, fear deprives us of the desire and the ability to encounter the other, the person different from myself.”