Closing the Door to Migrants Isn’t Christian: Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegli

Vatican City: Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, has said that the migration issue is an urgent one that can’t be solved by the “human egoism” that closes doors and fosters a xenophobic attitude toward foreigners. “It’s not Christian to be xenophobic, it’s not Christian to not welcome a migrant, who has rights and also duties,” he told journalists. When an immigrant arrives “they need to be recognized by the country who welcomes them,” he said. He emphasized that a migrant must respect “the traditions and identity of the culture where they go, just as the country where they arrive must respect the dignity and the identity of the immigrant.”