Pope: People Have Right to Migrate, Country's to Secure Borders
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pope Benedict XVI delivers his message as his personal aide Rev. Georg Gaenswein adjusts his mantel during his weekly general audience, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010. Benedict XVI says he is praying for the rescue of the 33 miners in Chile trapped underground for 69 days. The pope said in Spanish that he "continues with hope to entrust to God's goodness" the fate of the men trapped in the collapsed mine in Chile's Atacama desert, now being slowly raised to the surface. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Benedict XVI said that every person has a right to migrate in search of better living conditions, but that all countries have the right to regulate immigration flows and protect their borders. He also stressed that immigrants must respect the laws and national identity of their host nations.
Benedict said that, as the word's societies become more multiethnic and intercultural, people should seek dialogue and respect each other's differences. States must respect the dignity of all migrants and share their resources, while immigrants "have the duty to integrate into the host country."
The Vatican on Tuesday issued the pope's message for the church's World Day for Migrants and Refugees, which is celebrated Jan. 16.