The reunification of families should be a goal for those involved in migration policy, Fr Alan Hilliard, secretary of the Irish Catholic bishops' department of pastoral care, has said.
"Immigration policy should be about people first," he said yesterday in a statement to mark the Catholic Church's 93rd World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
"Migrants by their nature live far away from those they love.
"Often this is due to economic necessity, and this in turn can be compounded by restrictive immigration laws," he said.
He noted: "Currently in Ireland there are over 100 Catholic religious services for the pastoral support of our immigrant communities.
"The provision of these religious services, which show respect for the language and customs of the immigrant, is an important initiative to cultivate a spirit of welcome and to facilitate the journey to integration."
Sr Joan Roddy, director of the Catholic bishops' refugee and migrants project, said it was a day to remember those "who do not feel safe within their own country".
"It is becoming more and more difficult for people to cross borders to seek a place of refuge. Simply put, their story is often not believed and they are turned back," she added.
In a message to mark the day, Pope Benedict said that "if the immigrant family is not ensured of a real possibility of inclusion and participation, it is difficult to expect its harmonious development".
There were "real difficulties connected with some 'defence mechanisms' on the part of the first generation immigrants, which run the risk of becoming an obstacle to the greater maturity of the young people of the second generation," he said.
"This is why it is necessary to provide for legislative . . . and social intervention to facilitate such an integration," the pope said.
He also asked refugees themselves "to cultivate an open and positive attitude towards their receiving society and maintain an active willingness to accept offers to participate in building together an integrated community that would be a 'common household' for all."
A category of migrants which needed to be considered in a special way were foreign students, he said.
