Cardinal Pietro Parolin says freedom to practice religion is a right which must be protected, in order to permit many to stay where they are rather than contemplating emigration…

The Vatican Secretary of State has stressed this during the General Debate and the First Dialogue “Promoting Action on the Global Compact for Safe Commitments, Orderly and Regular Migration,”at the Intergovernmental Conference on the theme: “Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” underway in Marrakech, Morocco, from Dec. 10-11, 2018.

The Pope was invited to this encounter, but has instead accepted the invitation to visit the country March 30-31, 2019, the second Pope in history to visit there after Pope St. John Paul II in 1985.

The adoption of the Global Compact on Migration, the Vatican Secretary of State said, comes at a critical moment in history. “Migration has always been a natural response to crises and to the innate desire for greater opportunities, for a fuller life with greater freedom, peace and security. More people are on the move than ever before.”

Pope Francis, Cardinal Parolin reminded, has dedicated much of his pontificate to raising awareness about the plight of migrants, as well as the moral urgency to care for those who have been displaced and to respond to the root causes of their displacement. The Italian prelate recalled the Pontiff’s focusing on the situations of the most vulnerable, including migrant children and youth.

“His vision for international migration,” the cardinal stated, “can be summarized by the four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote, and to integrate, four actions that we find pervading the best practices and commitments that comprise the Global Compact on Migration.”

“He has also,” Parolin continued, “underlined that a dignified response to migration must be reasonable, with Governments prudently determining their actual capacity for meaningful integration.”

While admitting the Holy See has some reservations regarding it, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, Cardinal Parolin praised, “is an significant advance in the international community’s shared responsibility to act in solidarity with people on the move, especially those who find themselves in very precarious situations.”

Stability requires a commitment to the Also essential to the integral human development of each individual.

For stability, a fundamental right to be protected, he said, is “to be able to practice one’s religion freely, without fear of persecution or discrimination,” as well as to have the right to participate politically and have freedom of expression.

Cardinal Parolin underscored that peace, development and true integration are fundamental to ensuring the implementation of the Global Compact.

“Like bookends,” he said, “these two commitments keep the other commitments upright and orderly, from minimizing the adverse drivers of migration through peace and development to a successful conclusion of the migratory process in the harmonious integration of the migrant in the new homeland.”