Benedict xvi defends young migrants

[lemonbeam]

**Encourages Christians to Aid Children and Youth
**

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is appealing to Christians to reach out to migrants and refugees, especially children and adolescents, and to raise awareness of their plight.

The Pope affirmed this in a message, released by the Vatican today, that he wrote for the 96th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will be celebrated Jan. 17, 2010.

“The migrant is a human person who possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance,” he stated.

This year’s theme will focus on “Minor Migrants and Refugees,” something “that Christians view with great attention,” the Pontiff affirmed.

He said, “As a child, Jesus himself experienced migration for, as the Gospel recounts, in order to flee the threats of Herod, he had to seek refuge in Egypt together with Joseph and Mary.”

Read more: zenit.org/article-27681?l=english