Pope urges countries to help migrants

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis urged countries on Monday to greatly improve their welcome to migrants and stop any collective expulsions, saying migrants’ dignity and right to protection trumps national security concerns.

Francis’ politically pointed message was made in view of the Catholic Church’s 2018 world refugee day, celebrated Jan. 14. It comes amid mounting anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe following waves of migrant arrivals and Islamic extremist attacks.

In the message, Francis demanded governments welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants, saying Jesus’ message of love is rooted in welcoming the “rejected strangers of every age.”

He demanded an increased and simplified process of granting humanitarian and temporary visas, and rejected arbitrary and collective expulsions as “unsuitable.”

He said the principle of ensuring each person’s dignity “obliges us to always prioritize personal safety over national security.”

He has made refugees a priority of his pontificate, making his first trip outside Rome in 2013 to the island of Lampedusa, ground zero in Europe’s migration crisis. He has repeatedly spoken out for migrants’ rights, demanded countries build “bridges not walls,” and personally brought a dozen Syrian refugees back to Rome with him in 2016.