Pope Benedict XVI made a renewed appeal for the international community to welcome immigrants in a message released on Wednesday.The pontiff said ''special attention'' should be given to refugees and exiles in the message for the next World Day of Migrants and Refugees on January 18.
Benedict also urged people to ''live fully in fraternal love without distinction of type and without discrimination, in the conviction that anyone who needs us is our fellow man and we can help them''.
Presenting the pope's message, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, added that ''the problem of immigration is not resolved by closing borders''.
''There are over 200 million people who live outside their countries of origin, driven by misery, hunger, violence, wars, ethnic rivalries, but also by the desire for a better life,'' Martino said.
The influx of immigrants into the world's richer nations is ''often experienced by the host country as a sort of 'invasion', with negative repercussions on (social) stability and public safety issues''.
The cardinal said the negative climate ''makes human life even more sad and bitter for many immigrants'' and can drive them further to the margins of society.
''The problem is not resolved by closing borders but by countries welcoming the immigrant influx, with the right balanced and solid rules'' in order to ease integration, he said.
In response to a question about whether new mosques should be opened in the European Union, Martino said that while immigrants should respect the culture and laws of their host country, their religious and cultural needs should also be provided for.
''Europe must not see immigrants as invaders but as collaborators,'' he said.
LEAGUE SUGGESTS POINTS-BASED PERMITS FOR FOREIGNERS
The Catholic Church's comments came a day after a key government party unveiled a series of proposals that would make it easier to expel immigrants and tougher for Italians to marry foreigners.
The Northern League on Tuesday presented a raft of last-minute amendments to a so-called security bill currently in the Senate which opposition politicians have criticised as fuelling a wave of crime-linked anti-immigrant feeling in Italy.
The most important proposal envisions the introduction of a points-based residence permit for foreigners, which would see points deducted for administrative violations or criminal activity. Once the points run out, foreigners would be expelled. ''There can be no room for anyone living here outside the rules,'' said the party's Senate whip, Federico Bricolo on Tuesday.
In addition, immigrants would not be able to marry in Italy without first obtaining a residence permit and being in Italy legally.
Another proposal, apparently in response to fierce rows over new mosques, would require a local referendum before any non-Catholic places of worship could be built. The amendments were greeted with outrage by members of the opposition.
The Democratic Party's spokesman on charity and non-governmental matters, Gian Luca Lioni, described the proposals as ''surreal propaganda''.
''This is the Leagues' usual demagogy, designed to feed the implied prejudice that foreigners are usually criminals,'' he said.
The bill currently in the Senate is one of several legislative measures proposed by the government as part of a security package unveiled in May.
The various bills and decrees contained in the package have resulted in a range of action, including the deployment of 3,000 troops in Italian cities and the closure of unauthorized Roma camps.
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(Source: Ansa.it)