"As Church organizations we listen to Pope Francis and the Vatican Migrants and Refugees Section, who have prepared 20 action points on the theme of migrants and refugees. The bodies represented here are united to welcome, protect, promote and integrate people forced to leave their homes and look for new directions of life.
The Salesians also work in the countries from which the migrants arrive, know the causes of this humanitarian crisis and work near-miracles in favor of the development of these impoverished countries.
We express our commitment to welcoming and including all those migrants and vulnerable people in our society. For this reason we ask all the people, Salesian social and developmental entities, members of the Salesian Family, all Christians, our local, regional and central governments and the general population to guarantee the necessary means to defend the rights and the dignity of these people.
Attention to the most needy and the design of medium-term programs that guarantee real integration into our society is one of our priorities as Salesian organizations. In this way, and always keeping in mind our Christian attitude, we join with other entities that offer their resources for the reception of these people in emergency situations.
We hope that the welcome offered to the 629 people disembarked from the Aquarius in the port of Valencia represents the start of measures that encourage the completion of the relocation program, with legal and safe routes and the improvement of the asylum system.
We also encourage the entire population, and the Salesian Family in particular, to unite and create networks of social and family support, generating a greater guarantee of protection and development of a life project for young migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, which is sustainable in the medium and long term and does not depend only on specific action projects."
