Every human life is a gift from God and we are called to protect that life and enact change in institutions that threaten life and dignity. Foundational documents of Catholic Social Teaching such as Pope Francis’s On Fraternity and Social Friendship, or Fratelli Tutti, explore the many matters in the world that can be resolved by using the Catholic Social Teachings. On Life and Dignity of the Human Person, Pope Francis says, “The world exists for everyone because all of us were born with the same dignity. Differences of color, religion, talent, place of birth or residence, and so many others, cannot be used to justify the privileges of some over the rights of all.” This statement suggests that people should put their differences aside and focus on sharing love and respect for each other because we deserve and have the same inherent dignity. The book of Deuteronomy says that “God loves the orphan, the widow, and the stranger” (Dt. 10:17-19 NIV). This means that God loves everyone and because we have free will, He encourages us to love everyone including and especially those who are seen as less fortunate. This verse relates deeply to refugees around the world because they are in a situation where love is very hard to find within themselves as individuals and as groups. Like love languages, love can be shown through giving food, protection, and acts of service.

In Pope Francis’s On Care for Our Common Home Laudato Si’, he talks about the theme of rights and responsibilities saying, “Underlying the principle of the common good is respect for the human person as such, endowed with the basic and inalienable rights ordered to his or her integral development. It also has to do with the overall welfare of society and the development of a variety of intermediate groups.”  This theme declares that every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for surviving and thriving. Like the theme of Life and Dignity of the Human Person, the theme of rights and responsibilities is also centered on human dignity but instead focuses on the protection aspect of said human dignity. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops clarified that “The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met.” This is essentially trying to communicate that when human rights such as the right to life and liberty, work and education, freedom from any form of torture, freedom from discrimination, and the liberty to express themselves and their opinions are protected and the responsibilities of protecting, nurturing and educating are fulfilled, then the dignity of a person is protected in a way that makes God happy and protects his creation. In the case of refugees, they are not treated in a way that would be deemed as fulfilling the theme of rights and responsibilities and its requests of protecting human dignity according to the Catholic Bishops. In the introduction to the theme, it is mentioned by the writer that, “Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency.” Many refugees who are in these less fortunate situations are sometimes not acknowledged. In the scripture, it is written that “when someone is reduced to poverty, we have an obligation to help” (Lev. 25:35 NIV). Their rights are viewed as invalid by many and no one seems to care for them or hear their cries as their rights are stripped from them.