Media CenterVatican to Support Help for 'Humanitarian Emergency' of Child Migrants

With the continued surge in youth migrating from Central America to the United States, the Vatican's secretary of state weighs in on what should be done about a situation Pope Francis describes as a "humanitarian emergency." By Catholic News Service and posted on the Catholic Register:

MEXICO CITY - The Vatican's secretary of state pledged full support for addressing the issue of child migrants streaming out of Central America in search of safety and family reunification in the United States. Pope Francis, meanwhile, described the situation as a "humanitarian emergency" and called for the international community to act. Speaking at the Mexican Foreign Relations Secretariat on July 14, Cardinal Pietro Parolin repeated a recent call of bishops in five countries for Catholics and society at large to lend a helping hand for the thousands of young migrants traveling through Mexico and often arriving unaccompanied in the United States. "Given these migratory facts, we urgently need to overcome primitive misgivings and again propose common strategies at the subregional, regional and world levels that include all sectors of society," Parolin said in a speech attended by clergy and the foreign ministers of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Read the full article on the Catholic Register. Related articles: New York Times: The Children of the Drug Wars USCCB Says Dangerous Conditions Causing More Families to Send Children to U.S. Podcast in Spanish - CRS en el Mundo: More Migrant Youth Fleeing Violence