Pope: Countries have right to defend borders

By Morgan Lee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 at 2:39 p.m.

Feeling conflicted about immigration? Pope Benedict XVI has some new advice.

Marking the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the head of the Roman Catholic Church affirmed the right of governments to regulate immigration, though always while treating those involved with respect.

Local Catholic leaders, meanwhile, have spoken out recently against immigration enforcement efforts, from Arizona's controversial law to the expulsion of Roma immigrants from France.

The pope's exact words:"States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers, always guaranteeing the respect due to the dignity of each and every human person. Immigrants, moreover, have the duty to integrate into the host Country, respecting its laws and its national identity."

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010 ... d-borders/