CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS): People should not be forced to flee their homeland, but if they do leave, other nations must offer them shelter and protection, Pope John Paul II said.
Reciting the Angelus on July 29 with visitors at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Pope John Paul marked the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Convention that dealt with refugee issues.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that, as the anniversary was being marked, 21 million people were being assisted under the terms of the convention.
Pope John Paul said the convention is “an important agreement which remains the basis for the international protection of refugees, having been ratified by 140 countries, including the Holy See”.
The convention was drawn up to help nations deal with refugees from World War II, mostly Europeans.
“For the nations involved in World War II, these 50 years have been substantially years of peace,” the Pope said. “But throughout the world other conflicts have not been lacking, so that the number of refugees and forcibly displaced persons unfortunately is growing.”
At the same time, he said, some nations have shown “serious inadequacies” in fulfilling their responsibilities toward refugees who flee conflicts or persecution because of race, religion or political ideas.
