Vatican City, May 28, 2010 / 12:02 pm
Pope Benedict XVI told members of the Vatican department for migrants today that those they serve have rights based solely on the fact that they are human beings. He encouraged international cooperation and a sense of co-responsibility between states and private organizations in finding solutions to migration that simultaneously respect national sovereignty and the rights of the individual.
Speaking in the Apostolic Palace with around 40 participants from this week's plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Holy Father commented on their theme of "Ministry of human mobility today, in the context of the co-responsibility of States and International Organisms."
"Obviously, the acquisition of rights goes hand in hand with the acceptance of duties," Pope Benedict remarked, reminding participants of the importance of the dignity of the person in their discussions about the rights and duties of migrants and those of their eventual host communities.
"Everyone, in fact, enjoys non-arbitrary rights and duties because they spring from the very human nature ... rights and duties that are therefore universal, inviolable and inalienable," he said.