Message for the 96th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2010

"Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Mt 25, 40)

On the occasion of the 96th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2010, the Most Rev. Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Bishop of Daejeon and President of the CBCK Committee for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Foreign Residents Living in Korea, issued a message on April 25, 2010. In Korea, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees has been celebrated on May 1 when it is Sunday or a week before it since 2005. The message was entitled "Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Mt 25, 40). As His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI mentioned in his message entitled “Minor migrants and refugees”, Bishop You also said that we have to consider minor migrants and refugees as 'the least people'.

Bishop You said that even though the number of foreign workers in so-called 3D (dirty, dangerous, and difficult) jobs and women in multicultural families is increasing,

there have still not been proper policies for them to work in better environment and to lead stable lives. Because we will need more foreign workers to fill up the shortfall of manpower derived from an aging society and decrease of birthrate, he asked the government to prepare laws and social structures for them.

He also invited all the Christians to take the initiative in taking care of this vulnerable minority group in our Church and communities. In addition he urged the faithful to keep it in our minds that one of our missions is to embrace foreign workers and multicultural families.