Pope Francis addressed the topic of immigration Monday in his annual address to the diplomatic corps at the Vatican, regarded as his most significant foreign policy speech each year.
He spoke mostly of the need to welcome those who have been displaced by crime, poverty or threat of violence, but also said those migrants need to be more respectful of the traditions and rules of the countries they find refuge in.
“I think the Bible is very specific,” says William Gheen of the group, Americans for Legal Immigration. “People should not covet or trespass.”
The Pope says he has no intention of interfering with decisions countries make regarding their immigration policies, reiterating earlier calls for a compassionate attitude.
“Leaders have a clear responsibility towards their own communities,” he said, “whose legitimate rights and harmonious development they must ensure, lest they become like the rash builder who miscalculated and failed to complete the tower he had begun to construct,” Pope Francis told the gathering.
He suggested that taking in more migrants than a nation can handle risks jeopardizing the reigning culture and good of all the citizens.