VATICAN CITY — After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis launched a heartfelt appeal to all the dioceses of Europe to welcome families among the tens of thousands of refugees seeking to flee the horrors of war and persecution.
“We recognize God’s mercy through our works, as is shown by the life of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the anniversary of whose death we commemorated yesterday,” he said.
“Faced with the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees who flee death from war or hunger, on a journey towards the hope of life, the Gospel calls to us and asks us to be close to them, to the smallest and the abandoned; to give them real hope,” the pope said. “Not merely to say; ‘be brave, be patient.’ Christian hope is assertive, with the tenacity of those who go toward a certain destination.”
“Therefore, as we near the Jubilee of Mercy, I wish to address an appeal to the parishes, religious communities, monasteries and shrines throughout Europe to express the concreteness of the Gospel and to welcome a family of refugees,” Pope Francis said.“I address my brother bishops in Europe, true pastors, so that in their dioceses they may hear my appeal, recalling that mercy is the second name of love: ‘as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
“The two parishes of the Vatican will also welcome two families of refugees in these days,” he said.