[The newspaper La Stampa on newsstands today previews some excerpts from the book that Pope Francis is publishing for the 2025 Jubilee. The book Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims towards a Better World, edited by Hernán Reyes Alcaide (Piemme Editions), will be released on Tuesday [19 November] in Italy, Spain and Latin America, and then in various other countries. The Pontiff reflects on the family, education, the socio-political and economic situation of the planet, migration, the climate crisis, new technologies and peace.]

 

Pope Francis

Here I reaffirm that "it is absolutely necessary to address the causes that provoke migration in the countries of origin" (Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2017). It is necessary that the programmes implemented to this end ensure that, in areas affected by the most serious instability and injustices, space is made for authentic development that promotes the good of all peoples, especially boys and girls, the hope of humanity. If we want to solve a problem that affects us all, we must do so through the integration of the countries of origin, transit, destination and return of migrants. Faced with this challenge, no country can be left alone and no one can think of addressing the issue in isolation through more restrictive and repressive laws, sometimes approved under the pressure of fear or in search of electoral advantages. On the contrary, just as we see that there is a globalization of indifference, we must respond with the globalization of charity and cooperation, so that the conditions of migrants are humanized.

Let's think of the recent examples we have seen in Europe. The still open wound of the war in Ukraine has led thousands of people to abandon their homes, especially during the first months of the conflict. But we have also witnessed the unrestricted reception of many border countries, as in the case of Poland. Something similar has happened in the Middle East, where the open doors of nations such as Jordan or Lebanon continue to be the salvation of millions of people fleeing the conflicts in the area: I am thinking especially of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters in the face of the difficulty of getting food and aid to their territory. According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide. It would be necessary to investigate carefully to determine whether it fits within the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies. We must involve the countries of origin of the greatest migratory flows in a new virtuous cycle of economic growth and peace that includes the entire planet. For migration to be a truly free decision, it is necessary to do everything to guarantee for all an equitable participation in the common good, respect for fundamental rights and access to integral human development. Only if this basic platform is guaranteed in all the nations of the world will we be able to say that those who migrate do so freely and we will be able to think of a truly global solution to the problem. I am thinking especially of young people, who by emigrating often cause a double fracture in their communities of origin: one because they lose the most prosperous and proactive elements and another because families break up. ...