These are the four "milestones" for action, Francis said, explaining in his message that to welcome means above all broadening access to legal pathways for entry into host countries. Doing this, he said, will no longer push migrants and displaced people "towards countries where they face persecution and violence."
It will also help in terms of "balancing our concerns about national security with concern for fundamental human rights."
When it comes to protecting migrants and refugees, this imperative reminds us of the need to both recognize and defend "the inviolable dignity" of those who flee from precarious situations in search of safety and security, in order to prevent their exploitation.
On this point, the Pope turned specifically to women and children, who are often exposed to risks and abuses "that can even amount to enslavement."
To promote migrants and refugees, he said, implies promoting an integral human development of migrants and refugees, particularly where education for children and young adults is concerned.
Integrating, then, means allowing refugees and migrants "to participate fully in the life of the society that welcomes them, as part of a process of mutual enrichment and fruitful cooperation in service of the integral human development of the local community."
With more than 250 million migrants around the world, 22.5 million of whom are refugees, opening our hearts is not enough, Francis said, but action is needed.
The 20th century was marked by wars, conflicts, genocides and 'ethnic cleansings,' he said, noting that this has not changed, but now other factors are contributing to the migration issue, such as an increase in the number of families seeking a better future with more professional and educational opportunities.
Referring to his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, the Pope noted that there is also a rise in the number of migrants fleeing growing poverty in their homeland caused by environmental degradation.
Most people migrate through regular channels, but some take more dangerous routes out of desperation when their own countries "offer neither safety nor opportunity, and every legal pathway appears impractical, blocked or too slow," he said.
In many destination countries there has been a rise in rhetoric "decrying the risks posed to national security or the high cost of welcoming new arrivals." And this rhetoric, he said, "demeans the human dignity due to all as sons and daughters of God."
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"Those who, for what may be political reasons, foment fear of migrants instead of building peace are sowing violence, racial discrimination and xenophobia, which are matters of great concern for all those concerned for the safety of every human being," he said.
The numbers indicate that migrants will continue to play a major part in the international community in the future, Francis said. And while some consider this a threat, he invited the world "to view it with confidence as an opportunity to build peace."
Pope Francis then turned to the proposal for the 2018 U.N. global compacts on migration and refugees, which he said will provide a framework for policy proposals and practical steps to be taken.
These compacts "need to be inspired by compassion, foresight and courage, so as to take advantage of every opportunity to advance the peace-building process," he said. Only by doing this can international politics avoid "surrendering to cynicism and to the globalization of indifference."
He stressed the need for greater dialogue and coordination within the international community, saying that beyond national borders, "higher numbers of refugees may be welcomed – or better welcomed – also by less wealthy countries, if international cooperation guarantees them the necessary funding."
Quoting St. John Paul II's 2004 message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Francis said "if the dream of a peaceful world is shared by all, if the refugees' and migrants' contribution is properly evaluated, then humanity can become more and more of a universal family and our earth a true common home."