Refugees.

Vatican -- Pope Benedict issued a Message for the 2005 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, in which he included the scores of students who travel abroad from their home country to study and whose numbers increase every year. He highlighted the plight of migrant women who often have to travel alone in search of work in foreign countries, and who are often the sole support of their families, and by virtue of their sex often receive lower salaries and may be lured into criminal and unscrupulous work. Pope Benedict calls on Christians to "dedicate themselves to assuring just treatment for migrant women out of respect for their femininity and in recognition of their equal rights."

At the United Nations, Vatican representative Archbishop Migliore spoke in defence of refugees and displaced persons, reminding the international community that "the protection of their rights calls for adequate financial support and commitment."

In Britain six Catholic bishops are supporting hundreds of other Christians in calling for asylum seekers to either be allowed to work to sustain themselves or to be granted benefits until removal from the country.

In a message to mark World Migrants Day, British Bishop O'Donoghue picked up on John Paul II's theme of "intercultural integration" in a pastoral letter composed before his death: "The Church looks kindly and favourably upon the growing movement of people, for she sees in it her own image, that of a pilgrim people. The Church also considers it God's will, the unification and celebration of the diversity and solidarity of the human family."

The Holy Father requested that "the institutions of the host or transit country take care that [the immigrants] not be considered as merchandise or a simple work force, and that their fundamental rights and human dignity be respected" (The Tablet, Dec. 3, 2005).

Pope Benedict XVI also recommends that "the precarious situation of many foreigners should foster solidarity between the nations affected and contribute to the development of the countries of origin of the migrants" (Zenit, Feb. 6, 2006).