What is Pope Francis Going to Say to Mexico About Immigration During Visit? Elise Harris - Catholic News Agency
go to original January 27, 2016

Violence-plagued Morelia preps for papal visit (Reuters)

As Pope Francis’ weeklong visit to Mexico draws near, anticipation is building not just for the presence of the Successor of Peter, but also for how he will respond to hot-button topics such as immigration.

“There is a great joy and expectation for the trip of Pope Francis to Mexico. He is the first Latin American Pope, and the Mexican people feel very close to him,” Mariano Palacios Alcocer, Mexico’s ambassador to the Holy See, told CNA in an interview.

One of the most significant moments in the Pope’s trip, he said, will be on the last day when Francis celebrates a U.S.-Mexico border Mass in Ciudad Juárez. Set at Benito Juarez Stadium, near the border, the Mass is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from both countries.

“We consider that the theme of migration is an issue that is in the Pope’s agenda,” Alcocer said, explaining that for the Mexican people, the Pope’s visit to Lampedusa coupled by his constant appeals for migrants and those fleeing persecution is proof that his message is one of “respecting the human dignity of the emigrants and their families,” which the Vatican has always promoted.

He said that while the issue is close to the Roman Pontiff’s heart, Mexicans don’t expect him to give a lecture or to take a political line.

“For us the visit of the Pope is of purely pastoral character and should trigger in the different countries initiatives which are in favor of their citizens.”

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Mexico Feb. 12-17.

Read the rest at Catholic News Agency

Related: Tips Offered on Crossing to Mexico to See Pope (El Paso Times)

Related: Immigration at Center of Pope's Visit to Mexico-US Border (Associated Press)

Related: Border Patrol Reports Fewer Migrants Found Dead in Fiscal Year 2015 (Tucson Weekly)

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