Vatican City, May 27, 2019 / 04:03 am
In a society of growing individualism and indifference, the presence of migrants and refugees prompts a realization of the need for conversion and a renewed embrace of Christian life, Pope Francis said Monday.
In a message for the 2019 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, released May 27, he said, "the most economically advanced societies are witnessing a growing trend towards extreme individualism which, combined with a utilitarian mentality and reinforced by the media, is producing a 'globalization of indifference.'"
Through migrants, "the Lord is calling us to conversion, to be set free from exclusivity, indifference and the throw-away culture," he said. "Through them, the Lord invites us to embrace fully our Christian life and to contribute, each according to his or her proper vocation, to the building up of a world that is more and more in accord with God's plan."
"The presence of migrants and refugees – and of vulnerable people in general – is an invitation to recover some of those essential dimensions of our Christian existence and our humanity that risk being overlooked in a prosperous society," he continued.