Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move - N° 85, April 2001

Four Regional Consultations on the
Pastoral Care of Migrants
Final Statements and Summary Reports

Nilda M. CASTRO
Official of the Pontifical Council

The preceding issue of "People on the Move" (no. 84) gave a roundup ^[1] of four regional consultations and a concluding world meeting of National Directors for the pastoral care of migrants that took place between September 1999 and October 2000. The convocation of this series of meetings forms part of the institutional task entrusted to the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People and intended to be a follow-up of the IV World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees, in line with the wishes of the Holy Father.

During the aforementioned gatherings, the participants examined the concrete situation of migration in the different countries in the world, studied its causes and effects, observed how the local Churches are actually responding to this situation and, in this context, tried to determine how they could be more effective in the pastoral field.

The first meeting in the series was held for the Region of Asia and the Pacific in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from September 22 to 24, 1999. It was attended by 14 National Directors or Bishop Promoters from 13 countries. The second meeting gathered together representatives of the countries in the African continent in Cape Town, South Africa from March 7 to 9, 2000. Here, 13 delegates from 10 countries were present. Unfortunately many could not come for financial reasons. The European regional meeting took place in Strasbourg, France from September 13 to 15, 2000. It was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Migration Commission (Comece) of the Council of Bishops Conferences in Europe (CCEE). The regional meeting for the Americas took place in Mexico City on September 17 to 20, 2000. This was joint meeting with the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). Of the 30 participants, 13 were National Directors representing 13 American countries. The concluding World Meeting took place in Rome, Italy on October 10-12, 2000. It was attended by 53 delegates representing 46 countries or regions.

In this issue, the final statements or summary reports of the four regional consultations are fully reprinted to give the readers a more detailed description of what took place during the gatherings. Documentation regarding the World Meeting will be published in forthcoming issues of "People on the Move".

Notes:

[1] cf. Nilda M. CASTRO, The Presence of the Church in Migrantion: a Report on Four Regional Consultations and a World Meeting, in People On The Move, n. 84, December 2000, pp. 75-93.