A Stranger and You Welcomed Me: A Call to Mercy and Solidarity with Migrants and Refugees - by Pope Francis (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Solidarity, this word that frightens the developed world. People try to avoid saying it. Solidarity to them is almost a bad word. But it is our word!" -- Pope Francis

The plight of migrants and refugees has been a constant and urgent priority for Pope Francis. On his first trip outside of Rome to the Island of Lampedusa, a way station for refugees in the Mediterranean, he spoke of the many who have drowned: "We are a society which has forgotten how to weep, how to expe-rience compassion . . . the globalization of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep!"

In this collection of his writings and sermons, Pope Francis frequently reminds us that Jesus and his parents were refugees in Egypt. He calls on everyone to understand the root causes of the mass movement of people, and to act with compassion and solidarity in response to their sufferings, remembering Jesus's words: "What you have done to the least of my brothers, you have done to me."

Review Quotes

"This collection presents writings by Pope Francis on the great drama of our times: a modern Passion Play whose actors are refugees and migrants, the Church, and the world. Pope Francis points out just what is at stake for each of these groups. Refugees and migrants risk losing their lives. The rest of us could lose our souls."

-From the Foreword by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, CSsR, Archbishop of Newark

"Pope Francis knows that Jesus' message about the 'strangers' is loud and clear: Welcome them. In this important collection of writings, Pope Francis, whose first trip outside of Rome was a visit with refugees on the island of Lampedusa, shows us why welcome, hospitality, and most of all, love, are at the heart of the Gospels."

-James Martin, SJ, author, Jesus: A Pilgrimage and Building a Bridge

"Pope Francis's powerful call to welcome refugees and migrants is urgently needed. His words and actions help us see that we need not fear those who seek refuge among us. This collection is indispensable-a challenge that will bring a deepened spirit of mercy and solidarity to our increasingly fractured world. Read it: it will renew your hope."-David Hollenbach, SJ, Georgetown University

"An excellent resource for religious and political leaders to engage in much-needed reasoned discourse and to create pastoral actions and public policies that promptly and compassionately address this global crisis."-Miguel H. Díaz, PhD, US Ambassador to the Holy See, ret.

"In an age when migration has become a defining sign of our times, Pope Francis offers these words of life and hope for some of the most vulnerable and excluded members of the human community. Following the way of Christ-who migrated into our broken human territory to save strangers and aliens-he calls us to move beyond a world marked by the 'globalization of indifference' to a kingdom marked by a 'globalization of solidarity."-Daniel Groody, CSC, University of Notre Dame