World Refugee Day
Wednesday, June 20 2007At the end of Wednesday's general audience, Pope Benedict XVI recalled that 20 June marks World Refugee Day, an initiative promoted by the United Nations.
"Welcoming refugees and giving them hospitality," the Holy Father said, "is for everyone a vital gesture of human solidarity, in order to help them feel less isolated by intolerance and disinterest. For Christians, moreover, it is a concrete way to express evangelical love… It is my heartfelt wish that these brothers and sisters of ours, who have suffered such harsh trials, may be guaranteed refuge and the recognition of their rights, and I invite the leaders of nations to offer protection to all those who find themselves in such delicate situations of need."