Updated

Pope Francis has called for "urgent intervention" to welcome and protect minors traveling on their own from Central and South America to the United States in increasing numbers.

The pontiff on Wednesday said such measures should include an information campaign on the dangers of the journey. He called on the international community to rise to the challenge and adopt "new forms of legal and safe migration."

Tens of thousands of children have streaming from chaotic Central American nations in recent months to the U.S. border, overwhelming the government's ability to respond.

Francis issued his message on the World Day for Migrants and Refugees, drawing attention to the "tens of thousands of children who are emigrating alone, unaccompanied, to flee poverty and violence."