Key Message
Building a new global governance framework for human mobility requires placing the dignity of migrants and refugees, and their families, at the center of political decision-making, strengthening international protection and multilateral cooperation, and fostering an ethic of solidarity capable of responding to the challenges of an era marked by uncertainty.
Human mobility has become one of the most defining characteristics of our time. Millions of people are on the move, driven by armed conflicts, persecution, humanitarian crises, poverty, climate-related disasters, and new forms of vulnerability that transcend national borders. In this context, the uncertainty that characterizes today’s global landscape poses profound challenges to the international community and underscores the need to move toward a global migration policy grounded in human dignity, the common good, and shared responsibility.
The Encyclical Magnifica Humanitas invites us to understand human mobility from a comprehensive perspective, recognizing that every migrant and refugee possesses inalienable dignity and must be regarded as a rights-bearing individual, an active participant in their own development, and a member of one human family. This vision calls for moving beyond approaches focused exclusively on managing migration flows or securing borders and toward a culture of welcome, protection, empowerment, and integration. As the Church’s recent magisterium reminds us, the way we treat the most vulnerable is a concrete measure of our humanity.
From an ethical perspective on human mobility, migration should not be understood merely as an administrative or geopolitical phenomenon, but as a deeply human reality that calls for responses grounded in social justice, human rights, international protection, and solidarity among peoples. This requires strengthening a Global Multilateral System for the Governance of Human Mobility, promoting new paradigms for the protection of rights, and building broad-based partnerships among states, international organizations, local governments, academia, civil society, and faith-inspired organizations.
Scalabrinian spirituality and mission remind us that behind every statistic there is a person, a family, and a unique story. The call issued by the Scalabrinian Missionaries to recognize in “even one of the least of these” a presence that challenges our conscience is an enduring invitation to transform indifference into closeness, exclusion into welcome, and vulnerability into hope. Inspired by the charism of Saint John Baptist Scalabrini and by the witness of Blessed Giovanni Battista Scalabrini and the pioneers of the migration mission, we renew our commitment to the unwavering defense of the dignity, protection, and integral human development of migrants and refugees and their families.
In an era marked by global uncertainty, we are called to build an ethical and human-centered migration governance framework that places the human person at its center and contributes to consolidating a civilization of solidarity, fraternity, and peace for the entire human family.
PHG/OCTOBER 2026