Immigrants have duty to integrate into host country - Pope Benedict XVI

In his message for the World Day of the Immigrant and Refugees 2011 on January 16, Pope Benedict XVI recognised that states need to safeguard national interests and defend their borders.

At the same time, he urged governments to “welcome all people and ensure respect for human dignity.” The Pope called this message “a single human family.”  

In the message he says that immigrants have a “duty to integrate into the host country, respecting the laws and national identity.”

The Pope cautioned that if authorities of the host country are concerned about security and social cohesion, then they should respect immigrants rights and only then will a stable and harmonious coexistence be achieved.

He affirmed how authorities should also help displaced persons to find a place where they can live in peace.  They deserve this help because they often have to flee their own countries for political or religious reasons.  

In his message Pope Benedict XVI called for everyone to help in achieving integration of immigrants in an increasingly globalised world.

Locally, government’s stance on the issue is that integration is “Malta’s biggest immigration challenge”, as many immigrants do “not relate to the asylum determination process, but rather to the long-term integration of beneficiaries of international protection.”

"This is due to the innate limitations of the country, including its small size, high population density and small labour market prone to saturation, " the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs was quoted as saying.

It was for these reasons, the ministry said, that Malta has been repeatedly advocating the resettlement of beneficiaries of international protection to other EU Member States and other extra-European states.

The message comes in the wake of numerous controversial developments across Europe. Over the summer, France deported 1,000 Roma (gypsies) to Romania and Bulgaria – dismantling roughly 200 camps.

The policy aroused a sharp response from the EU and prompted the Pope to tell French pilgrims they should "accept legitimate human diversity".

In Germany, German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivered controversial statements on immigration, arguing that attempts to build a multicultural society have "utterly failed". Like the Pope, she urged immigrants to try harder to integrate.