Pope Francis on Thursday appealed to
migrants to never forget their human dignity and to not "be
afraid to look others in the eye".
"You are not disposable," said the pontiff in a message in
Spanish to a group of migrants gathered in Lajas Blancas,
Panama.
"I too am a child of migrants, who set out in search of a better
future," he added. "There were times when they were left with
nothing, even hungry; with empty hands, but a heart full of
hope," continued Francis.
The pope also thanked the local church for its "commitment to
our migrant brothers and sisters who represent the suffering
flesh of Christ, when they are forced to leave their land, to
face the risks and tribulations of a hard journey, without
finding any other way out".
Francis has made the plight of migrants and refugees a central
theme of his pontificate.
His first visit as pope in 2013 was to the Sicilian island of
Lampedusa, where many of the migrants and refugees making the
dangerous sea crossing to Europe land.
He has spoken out regularly on the moral and humanitarian
imperative of rescue at sea and the need to provide dignified
reception and integration services for those that arrive.
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