Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 101, August 2006

The Catholic Churchamong

migrants and refugees*

(A presentation at the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Europe)

Dr. Nilda M. CASTRO

Official of the Pontifical Council 

for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

Thank you, on behalf of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, for the invitation to speak to this distinguished assembly and share with you the Catholic Church’s maternal concern for the plight of migrants and refugees in the world today.

There has always been solicitude, on the part of the Catholic Church, for those who have left their homelands, or indeed who have none. The Apostolic Constitution Exsul Familia (1952) gives a brief review of what the Church has done in this area through the centuries. Here, I would like to mention two names which are closely linked with the vicissitudes of migration. The historical period in which they lived was the end of the 19th century, when Europeans were leaving for the New World, in search of better conditions of life. The situation in the “promised land”, however, was so difficult that in the process of looking for bread, they were losing their faith. They had to work, there was no time to pray or to go to Church, and when they did, things were done differently from what they were used to in their home country. It was not only a question of language, but also of mentality. It was difficult to feel welcomed under these conditions.

The first name is St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, a young Italian woman who wanted to be a missionary in China, but at the Holy Father’s encouragement to go America instead, to take care of the Italians who were in a tragic condition there, she did not hesitate to change her itinerary. She later founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and her first missionary sisters left for New York in March, 1889[1]. At present, the Cabrinian sisters are still generously carrying out their mission among migrants and those who are marginalized.

The second is Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza (Italy), founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries for Italian Emigrants (the Scalabrinian Fathers). He himself recounts how he got in contact with the migration phenomenon: “An excellent man and exemplary Christian of a mountain village – where I went, years ago, on a pastoral visit – came to ask for my blessing and a pious remembrance for himself and for his loved ones, who were leaving for America. To my observations (Bishop Scalabrini did what he could to dissuade people in his diocese from emigrating), he opposed this simple and painful dilemma: either steal or emigrate. ‘To steal [is something] I should not nor I want to do, because God and the law forbid it. To earn my bread here, for myself and for my children, is impossible to me. What must I do then? Emigrate: it is the only resource left to us…’ I did not know what to say. Moved, I blessed him and recommended him to God’s protection, and once more I was convinced that emigration is a necessity that imposes itself as a supreme and heroic remedy”[2].

Later on, he wrote (what could almost be written today): “In almost all cases, emigration is not a pleasure, but an inevitable necessity. Undoubtedly, among emigrants, there are those who are bad, vagabonds and vicious; but they are a minority. The great majority, not to say the totality, of those who emigrate to faraway America, is not of this kind. They are not fleeing from Italy because they detest working, but because no work is available, and they do not know how to live and support their family”[3].

Bishop Scalabrini’s first writing on emigration explains why he was involved in the plight of migrants: “Where the people are, the Church is there, because the Church is mother, friend, protector of the people”[4]. 

His point of reference is the missionary action of the Church, a continuation of the work of Christ:

“As long as, on this earth, there will be even just one people to evangelize, one uneducated person to instruct, one sinner to call to repentance, one afflicted person to console, one single creature without bread for the body, or without help for the spirit … there will always be bishops, priests, missionaries…, who, at the cost of all privations and sacrifices, in virtue of the word of Jesus Christ, will hurry to the aid of afflicted humanity”[5]. 

It is evident, therefore, that Giovanni Battista Scalabrini envisioned a holistic pastoral care among migrants, including a design of evangelization, solidarity and integral human promotion. 

In the late 19^th and early 20^th century New World, there were also migrants of other nationalities, like for example, the Polish and German migrants, who had the same problems as the Italians. 

Interventions by the Holy See

Thus, in the second post-war period of the last century, while religious institutions for social assistance to immigrants were being founded in various nations, there was a felt need for an authoritative intervention on the part of the Holy See in order to reactivate and reorganize the vast and complex pastoral involvement in this sector.

This resulted in the publication of the Apostolic Constitution Exsul Familia, in August 1952, by Pope Pius XII. The document is considered the magna charta of the Catholic Church’s teachings on migration, which laid down guidelines and norms for a specific pastoral care for migrants. 

Obviously, Exsul Familia was conditioned by its time. Yet its “intuition” went well ahead into the future and there were valid indications for later developments. In the 1960s many events contributed to a constant change in the overall picture of international migration: the process of European integration; the stabilization of intra-European migration flows; the advent, spread and increase of migration from Third World countries; the rapidly expanding countries in the oil area becoming new destinations for emigrants; and the massive phenomenon of refugees in regions where there was international tension. The Catholic Church tried to develop appropriate pastoral responses to these. 

It was during that period that the Second Vatican Council was held. In continuity with the past, it renewed the Catholic Church’s commitment in evangelization and human promotion. In the salient phenomena of the period – including international migration – the Catholic Church perceived the “signs of the times” to be interpreted in the light of the Word of God and the Magisterium of the Church.

Vatican II was instrumental in making dioceses aware that the pastoral care of immigrants was their responsibility and inspired a commitment to face the problem more appropriately. Thus, as Bishops’ Conferences, and their specific Commissions in charge of migration, were being formed and consolidated, the pastoral care for migrants was renewed and reorganized to make it more up to date and adapted to the new circumstances. To guide their efforts Pope Paul VI issued the Motu Proprio Pastoralis Migratorum Cura, and the corresponding Instruction, De Pastorali Migratorum Cura ("Nemo est"), of the Congregation for Bishops, both published in 1969.

Migration is here to stay, but it is not an unchanging phenomenon. As its causes and consequences change, all issues related to it undergo a transformation. Thirty-five years after the publication of De pastorali migratorum cura, a new Instruction was published to define a pastoral care of migrants that would respond to the signs of the times. Entitled Erga migrantes caritas Christi, it was issued in 2004 by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, a Dicastery of the Roman Curia specifically charged with issues related to human mobility. The document “urges us to look afresh at [the migrants’] problems” (no. 1) and invites all Catholics “to respond to this challenge …[for] it is not just a matter of good will or the personal charisma of a few” (no. 3).  

A sign of our times

Migration is one of the signs of our times, a “dramatic sign of our troubled times”, an ILO expert said. It is a vast phenomenon that institutions and governments wanted to stop until they realized that it is a structural component of present-day society’s socio-economic and political reality[6]. Then, they had to face the fact that it is useless to try to eliminate the phenomenon, but look at it in the face and concentrate their efforts in responding to the challenges that it presents. 

Today’s migration

Through the years, the geography and direction of migration have changed a lot. Europe (or better, Western Europe) lost its status as an emigration continent “par excellence” and is becoming a favorite destination of migrants from developing countries. To have a general view let us look at some statistics.

The United Nations’ Migration Report in 2002[7]  states that in 2000, 175 million people were living outside their country of birth. They constitute about 3% of the world’s population (ca. 5.8 billion). Sixty percent of these “migrants” (104 million) are found in developed regions and only forty percent (71 million) are in less developed regions. Europe hosts 56 million, Asia 50 million, and North America 41 million. On their part, Africa hosts 16 million migrants, Central and South America 6 million, and Oceania another 6 million. We could say that approximately one of every 10 persons living in the more developed regions is a migrant, while they are one out of every 70 in developing countries. However, the total migration picture shows that south-south movements are more than those going south-north.    

Where do migrants in Europe come from?[8] 

In the continent, three distinct but interrelated migration zones have been developed: Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Community of Independent States.

The origin of the foreign population in Western Europe is a reflection of successive waves of post-war migration associated, first, with labor shortage and, more recently, with family reunion and formation, as well as the flight of refugees from war-torn areas both within and outside Europe. Of course, members of diplomatic missions have always been there. The largest national groups, residing in Western European countries that are not their own, are still from Southern Europe (Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece), despite their recent status as immigration countries. They also come from Turkey and former Yugoslavia, and more recently from North Africa. Other national groups vary in importance according to the various destination countries.[9]  

Western Europe also received 392,200 asylum seekers in 2000, of which 23.4% were in the UK. Germany took in another 18.9%. Other countries mainly chosen by asylum seekers in the year 2000 were France, Belgium and The Netherlands. In contrast, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland experienced declines in applications for asylum. 

In Central and Eastern Europe, there has been a growing amount of short-term, short-distance movement across State boundaries. Although the mass emigrations from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to Western Europe, after the fall of the communist regime, did not materialize, large numbers nevertheless crossed borders that had been tightly controlled in the past. Most of this movement exists for the purposes of gaining a livelihood, and is associated with the thriving of informal economies, involving petty trading, “tourism” for labor purposes and other novel forms of migration. The informal sector provides seasonal and temporary jobs, which do not offer a stable source of income but are regarded by many workers as a supplement to what can be earned in their home country.

Sudden and massive forced movements on a very high scale took place in the former Yugoslavia at the time of the war in the area. It is believed that many asylum seekers in Central and Eastern Europe are really transit migrants wishing eventually to enter Western Europe, although there is some recent evidence that asylum seekers are now targeting the area for settlement because of growing political freedom and economic development.

Migration in the former Soviet Union (fundamentally CIS) is currently characterized by internal circulation, with some international spillover. The causes of this movement include falling living standards, socio-political instability and a series of armed conflicts. Thus there are ‘normal’ labor migrations as well as ‘other’ types coming from a series of emergencies.

Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, there is evidence of large scale illegal migration. In 1994 about half a million immigrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East were reported to have entered in violation of passport and visa procedures. 

In general, in Europe, much of the immigrant flow is into highly skilled jobs since the work permit systems of most countries select those with high levels of expertise. This includes those who are in the diplomatic service. However, there is increasing evidence of polarization in labor intensive occupations such as catering and cleaning, being filled by relatively low-skilled workers, many of whom are in an irregular situation.

Migration of the highly-skilled (corporate staff, consultants, education specialists, etc.) is a child of economic globalization and the activities of transnational corporations, however their numbers in relation to the bulk of migration is relatively small. 

Concerning foreign students, in 1996, Europe accounted for 78.5 thousand in the United States. On the other hand, there were 197 thousand in Great Britain, 160 thousand in Germany and 130 thousand in France[10].

Unauthorized migration, by definition, is difficult to calculate. The International Labor Office (ILO) estimated 2.6 million non nationals in Europe in an irregular or undocumented situation, including seasonal workers and asylum seekers whose applications were not approved but who have stayed. There is also evidence to suggest that traffickers and smugglers are behind a substantial proportion of irregular migration. 

Why people migrate today

People generally leave their countries because they and their families can no longer live there with dignity, well-being or security, due to poverty, violation of human rights, unequal opportunities, concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, and so on. They look for better opportunities and a better future elsewhere.

Of course, there are different degrees of tolerability (or intolerability) of the situation in one’s home country. Migration can be forced or voluntary. There is the voluntary migration of high-skilled workers who go abroad for brighter prospects or for specialization purposes, or of diplomats who live abroad as part of their mission. There is the less voluntary migration of seasonal and cross-border workers, or contract laborers for unskilled or semi-skilled jobs, who can earn more or get a job in another country, but not in their own. The migration of those who flee economic conditions that threaten their lives and physical well-being is obviously more forced than voluntary. In the event of ecological disasters, whether natural or man-made, violence, war, terrorism and violation of human rights, migration becomes forced. This produces refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people and those in need of temporary protection

Mass media also plays an important role in the migration dynamics in our globalized world. Speaking at the V World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees[11], Dr. Gabriela Rodriguez Pizarro, UN Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights of Migrants, affirmed that communications media distribute news and images at great speed, providing information - that is not always accurate - on the economic opportunities and lifestyles in other parts of the world. 

People’s hopes are raised by this information and they are encouraged to go there. However, destination countries are increasingly controlling their borders and making it more difficult to obtain immigration visas. They allow in only those whom they believe are beneficial to the nation although, fortunately, sometimes they also take into consideration humanitarian reasons. 

Irregular migration

Severe immigration laws and restrictive immigration policies, including a limit to migrants’ access to social services, have not discouraged international migration which, in fact, is continuing to grow. On the contrary, they have increased irregular migration. When it is difficult to cross a border legally, and there is an impelling need to do so, people do not hesitate to attempt unauthorized migration. 

Migrants in an irregular situation are vulnerable. Since they are not in the territory of their state of origin and their destination country should not know that they are there, no one guarantees their human and labor rights. It is easy to exploit and abuse them and at the same time enjoy economic gains at their expense. Protecting the rights of irregular migrants, therefore, would be an important step forward in stopping migrant abuse and exploitation. 

Smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings

Many migrants have lost their lives in attempts to undertake unauthorized crossing of frontiers. They may have drowned or died by hypothermia, dehydration or asphyxiation. These are people who have turned to smugglers to facilitate their entry into a State of which he is not a national or a permanent resident, in return for large sums of money, mortgaging their own and their families’ possessions in their countries of origin. 

Those who succeed in entering another country irregularly may find another surprise: the honest and well-paying job promised to them may turn out to be a deception. Their brokers, or agents, subject them to exploitation in the form of prostitution, indentured labor, slave-like services or even the extraction of organs. Unwittingly, they become victims of trafficking in human beings. 

What migrants experience

It is not difficult to foresee what can happen in migration. 

Even the most voluntary migration implies a certain degree of uprooting. A person leaves his usual environment and enters a new one: where people may speak a different language, where things are done differently, where mentality and even food are different, where the unspoken language is new and probably unknown to the newcomer, so that he or she runs the risk of not understanding and being misunderstood.

How much more for people in need who are in a strange country, whose language they do not understand and much less know its culture and legislation? They are indeed in a very vulnerable position. They can easily fall victim to the abuse of their human rights, but when survival is at stake it is easy to give up rights. 

Furthermore, it is not infrequent to find prejudice against migrants in their host countries. They are considered a source of threat and competition in the labor market, as carriers and propagators of a strange culture and, more generally, as foreigners who must be kept under control.

Here again, the responsibility of modern information technology comes into play. Communications media can disseminate racist and xenophobic propaganda. They can give a distorted view of the effects of migration, holding migrants responsible for the collapse of health care, education or social security systems in the host country. This can lead to violence against migrants, which may not always be physical, but more often psychological and moral, as in cases of marginalization and exclusion. 

Migrant women

Contemporary migration is also characterized by the increasing proportion of women involved in it, a large part of whom are hired for domestic services. These are very vulnerable jobs, given the impossibility to draw a line between working and non-working hours while in the employer’s house. In many countries, domestic services are not subject to labor laws as are other kinds of jobs. Therefore, the legal recognition of domestic work is fundamental for the protection of the rights of these women.

The numbers working in the entertainment industry are not negligible either. It is not rare to find migrant women who signed contracts in this sector ending up in forced prostitution. 

There are also women who migrate to marry men they do not know and who live in countries of a high level of economic development. Gabriela Rodriguez expressed concern over the position of these women.

In many parts of the world, women’s rights still need to be defended. Thus a migrant woman’s rights have to be safeguarded twice.  

Families in migration  

Present migration trends show that family-related migration is more numerous than labor migration, but family separation in migration has remained a difficult question to tackle. When this occurs, problems arise for the stability of the couple and of the family, as well as for the education of the children. When the absent spouse is the wife or mother, it is even more difficult, especially because of her central role in caring for the home and bringing up the children. 

Allow me just to mention here the situation of unaccompanied minors and their alarming expulsion at international frontiers, exposing them to risks to their well-being and physical integrity. There are also States who consider children born in their territory as nationals, but they do not allow the legal domicile of the parents. In such cases, the State denies its own national the right to live legally with his/her family in his/her own country. 

A mixture of traditions, cultures and religions

Migration inevitably brings together people of varied nationalities, religions, customs, history, language, traditions, values, cuisine and everything else that define their cultural identity. For example, in countries of ancient Christian tradition, there are migrants who profess belief in other religions. But it is also true the other way around. Pope John Paul II stated in his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2002 that “in the European continent, marked by a long Christian tradition, citizens arrive who profess other beliefs. North America, a land that is already living a solid multicultural experience, hosts followers of the new religious movements. In India, where Hinduism prevails, there are Catholic religious men and women who render humble and useful service to the poorest in the country.”  

The Catholic Church’s response 

What is the response of our Church to all this? It is at several levels.

First of all, the Catholic Church wishes to be there where the migrants are, to share with them the joys and the hopes, as well as the grief and the pains of migration[12]. Humanitarian aid and solidarity, social action and advocacy, training and Christian formation are all part of the Church’s mission among those involved in the phenomenon of human mobility. However, all these are but various expressions of its fundamental mission: the proclamation of the Good News that God is love and, out of love, He became man, and by His death and resurrection, He restored man’s lost unity with God. In doing so, He also gave back to every person the dignity of being a child of God and revealed every human being’s worth, for he must be so important in the eyes of God to gain such a great Redeemer[13].

Concretely, a migrant, a refugee, a foreign student, or other people involved in human mobility may find themselves in situations where they literally need food, clothing and shelter. They may need medicine and medical care. The Church seeks to afford them welcome, through the proper channels, by establishing a culture of welcome in its communities, and being in solidarity with migrants and refugees[14]. 

When their rights are trampled on, the Church defends them making use of “advocacy”, when necessary[15]. Additional effort is made where women and children are concerned because they are more vulnerable. When human dignity is not respected and human rights are violated, the result is a moral suffering that harms the human family. As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[16] affirms, “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. Any inequality in this sense, therefore, must not be tolerated.

In these two ways of being with the migrants, ecumenical collaboration has been very effective in concretely helping migrants in need.  

Preparing potential migrants

The Catholic Church is also called to accompany potential migrants in their decision-making process and to prepare them for migrant life abroad. Naturally, the formation of a migrant starts very much before he/she decides to migrate: from the cradle at home, to his lessons at school, in catechism classes, in the parish, in the ecclesial groups and associations he might choose to follow, etc.  Already at this stage of the potential migrant’s life, the Catholic Church wishes to be present. 

Then when he or she starts toying with the idea of migrating, it is important to provide him/her with correct information regarding the possible destination countries: their laws, and not only labor legislation, their customs, religious traditions, etc. Since employment agencies or even relatives and friends are not always dependable or objective sources of information in this regard, it is important for the Church, through its networks, to be able to furnish reliable pre-departure data.     

When a person finally decides to migrate, then it is necessary to direct him/her to the Church and its related structures and organizations in the destination country, where it is possible to avail of pastoral care, including social and legal assistance, if necessary.  

Dialogue

Then, there is a need for dialogue. The intermingling of cultures, religions and beliefs caused by migration could be an enrichment, but it has also caused tension in the past, which has persisted, and considerably, in some cases. Antidote to this tension is dialogue – at all levels: ecumenical dialogue, inter-religious dialogue, dialogue with those who do not have a religious creed and inter-cultural dialogue. This is a process that leads to the recognition of values that are in common and an attitude of respect for differences[17]. 

Certainly, the most common and most direct way of doing dialogue is through the dialogue of life, through simple everyday gestures of solidarity, fraternity and love, among people who belong to different Churches, religions and cultures. This can produce an authentic change in interpersonal relationships, which is capital.  

Pope John Paul II, in his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2005[18], affirmed the need “for a dialogue between people of different cultures in a context of pluralism that goes beyond mere tolerance and reaches sympathy” and to “encourage … a mutual fecundation of cultures. This implies reciprocal knowledge and openness between cultures, in a context of true understanding and benevolence.”

However, he also said that “dialogue must not hide, but exalt, the gift of faith”[19]. A dialogue of welcome and mutual openness allows people to know each other better and discover that the various religious traditions often contain precious seeds of the Word (Semina Verbi)[20]. This could be a way to an enrichment of dialogue.

Thus, dialogue and evangelization are not opposed to each other. Erga migrantes caritas Christi[21], in fact, speaks about the “great respect and attention for the migrants’ [religious] traditions and culture” that we are called to show as Christians. At the same time we have “to bear witness to the gospel of love and peace in our dealings with them and also to proclaim the Word of God explicitly to them so that the blessing of the Lord, promised to Abraham and his descendants for ever, may reach them”. “There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ,” Pope Benedict XVI[22] recently said. “There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.”  

Cooperation

Furthermore, the response of the Catholic Church obviously requires cooperation among local Churches[23]. Thus, while it is the task of the Church in the destination country to offer pastoral care to all the faithful in its territory, it is important for migrants to be accompanied by priests and/or other pastoral agents who are from or have carried out missionary work in their country of origin. They understand not only their language, but also their culture and mentality. This is of great importance in helping them live and grow in the faith and face, as mature Christians, all the vicissitudes they encounter in their life. This is why close collaboration between the Church of origin and the Church in the host country is necessary. 

Such collaboration will also help migrants and refugees become part and parcel of the community of the local Church, where no one is a foreigner, where everyone is welcome, because Jesus Christ died for each and every person. The Church in the destination country will then become a model of a truly inter-cultural society, where everyone is really an integral part, whatever may be his color, race, nationality or creed, where differences are not a reason for conflict but an enrichment for all. Then, universal brotherhood, where all people are members of one family and the earth a truly global home for all, will no longer be a dream but will start becoming a reality. 

Conclusion

Allow me to conclude with the hope that all of us who are present here today may become aware of and understand the experience, and very often the drama, of those who are “compelled” to live far from their homeland, and learn to serve them in their necessities, truly accepting them as brothers and sisters, so that today’s migrations may be considered a call, although a mysterious one, to the Kingdom of God, and an instrument of Providence to further the unity of the human family and peace[24].

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Riassunto 

La Chiesa Cattolica tra Migranti e Rifugiati 

La Chiesa cattolica ha sempre rivolto la Sua sollecitudine pastorale a chi ha lasciato la propria patria, o non ne ha una. Un breve riepilogo di ciò che la Chiesa ha operato in questo campo, attraverso gli anni, si trova nella Costituzione Apostolica Exsul Familia. Due nomi spiccano tra coloro che si sono interessati delle vicissitudini dei migranti: Santa Francesca Saverio Cabrini, fondatrice della Congregazione delle Missionarie del Sacro Cuore e il Beato Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Vescovo di Piacenza, e fondatore della Congregazione dei Missionari per gli Emigrati italiani.

Nel periodo a seguire alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale, mentre si fondavano nelle varie nazioni istituzioni religiose per l’assistenza sociale agli immigrati, si faceva sentire il bisogno di un intervento da parte della Santa Sede per riattivare e riorganizzare il vasto e complesso impegno pastorale in questo settore. Così si pubblicò, nel 1952, la Costituzione Apostolica Exsul Familia, considerata la magna charta degli insegnamenti della Chiesa cattolica sulle migrazioni.

Con il Vaticano II le diocesi si sono sensibilizzate in genere circa la loro responsabilità in questa pastorale. Il Motu proprio Pastoralis Migratorum Cura con l’Istruzione De Pastorali Migratorum Cura (“Nemo Est”), pubblicati nel 1969, hanno guidato gli sforzi per aggiornare la pastorale dei migranti. Trentacinque anni dopo, nel 2004, l’Istruzione Erga migrantes caritas Christi è stata edita dal Pontificio Consiglio della Pastorale per i Migranti e gli Itineranti per affrontare i nuovi problemi dei migranti e invitare i cattolici a rispondere a tale sfida.

Le migrazioni odierna

Le persone che, nel 2000, abitavano fuori dal loro paese di origine, erano 175 milioni, costituendo circa il 3% della popolazione mondiale. Il 60% di essi si trovavano in regioni sviluppati. L’Europa ospitava 56 milioni di immigrati, mentre erano 50 milioni in Asia, 41 milioni in Nord America, 16 milioni in Africa, 6 milioni in Centro- e Sudamerica, e ancora 6 milioni in Oceania. Il complessivo quadro migratorio però dimostrava che i movimenti migratori sud-sud erano superiori a quelli sud-nord.

In Europa occidentale, i gruppi di immigrati più numerosi provenivano dall’Europa meridionale (Italia, Portogallo, Spagna e Grecia). C’erano comunque coloro che arrivavano dalla Turchia, dall’ex-Iugoslavia e dal Nord Africa. Nell’Europa centrale e orientale i movimenti attraverso le frontiere nazionali erano di breve durata e per brevi distanze. Si pensa che qui i movimenti migratori erano soprattutto di transito verso l’Europa occidentale ed oltre. Nell’ex-Unione Sovietica (paesi CIS) le migrazioni sono soprattutto tra i paesi dell’ex-Unione. 

Purtroppo si verificava, su vasta scala, la presenza dei migranti senza documenti. Si calcolava in circa 2,6 milioni il numero di stranieri presenti in Europa in situazione irregolare.

Le cause delle migrazioni oggi.

Generalmente si lascia il proprio paese quando non vi è la possibilità, per sé e per la propria famiglia, di vivere dignitosamente in sicurezza, a causa della povertà, la violazione dei diritti umani, e ineguali opportunità, la concentrazione della ricchezza nella mani di pochi, ecc. 

In ogni caso i mass media giocano un ruolo significativo nella dinamica migratoria nel mondo. Le informazioni che le persone ricevono possono essere determinanti nella decisione di partire. Le leggi restrittive sulle migrazioni non le fermano; anzi spronano la crescita delle migrazioni irregolari, favorendo così il contrabbando e il traffico degli esseri umani.

La situazione migratoria

La sofferenza è solitamente compagna del fenomeno migratorio, che inevitabilmente dà origine allo sradicamento. Il migrante entra in una società totalmente diversa dalla sua: lingua, mentalità, leggi, cultura… E’ vulnerabile ed è facilmente vittima di abusi e violazioni dei suoi diritti fondamentali. Non è infrequente il pregiudizio e/o la discriminazione contro i migranti quando non si tratta addirittura di razzismo o xenofobia. Può esserci violenza contro i migranti, non sempre fisica, ma spesso psicologica e morale, come nei casi dell’emarginazione o esclusione.

La migrazione contemporanea è anche caratterizzata da una crescente proporzione femminile, soprattutto nel settore di impiego domestico o nell’intrattenimento, settori assai vulnerabili. Sono anche in aumento le migrazioni per motivi di famiglia, ma i problemi relativi alla separazione familiare non sono scomparsi. C’è pure la difficile situazione dei minori non accompagnati alla frontiera e nei territori stranieri.

Per la migrazione, persone di diverse nazionalità, religione, storia, lingua, tradizione, valori, ecc., si incontrano e così si confrontano. Tale confronto può avere un impatto positivo o negativo.

La risposta della Chiesa cattolica

A queste situazioni, la Chiesa cattolica risponde a vari livelli. Prima di tutto, con l’essere lì dove ci sono i migranti, per condividere con loro gioie e speranze, e tristezze ed angosce. Concretamente, essa svolge attività umanitaria e di solidarietà, sociale e di “advocacy”, di formazione umana e cristiana. Ciò è espressione della sua missione fondamentale, quella di proclamare la Buona Novella che Dio è amore, e per amore si è incarnato, è morto e risorto per restaurare l’unità perduta dell’uomo con Dio. 

Inoltre la Chiesa accompagna i potenziali migranti nel momento di decidere se imbarcarsi o meno nel processo migratorio. Ancora, si impegna nel dialogo, a vari livelli: ecumenico, inter-religioso, altresì con coloro che non hanno una fede religiosa, e inter-culturale. La forma più comune di dialogo è quello della vita, attraverso semplici gesti quotidiani di solidarietà, fraternità e amore.

Il dialogo, però, non deve nascondere, ma esaltare, il dono della fede. Con grande rispetto e attenzione per le tradizioni religiose dei migranti, i cristiani sono chiamati a dare cioè testimonianza al Vangelo dell’amore e proclamare esplicitamente la Parola di Dio, affinché la benedizione del Signore, promessa ad Abramo e ai suoi discendenti, tutti raggiunga. Dialogo e evangelizzazione non sono dunque opposti.

La risposta della Chiesa cattolica ovviamente richiede anche la cooperazione tra Chiese locali, in modo particolare tra la Chiesa di provenienza e quella di arrivo, per aiutare i migranti a far parte integrante della comunità cristiana locale, dove nessuno è straniero.

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Resumen

La Iglesia católica entre los Migrantes Y Refugiados 

La Iglesia católica ha dirigido siempre su solicitud pastoral a quienes han dejado su propia patria, o no la tienen. Un breve resumen de lo que la Iglesia ha realizado en este campo, a lo largo de los años, se encuentra en la Constitución Apostólica Exsul Familia. Dos nombres se destacan entre los que se han interesado por las vicisitudes de los migrantes: Santa Francisca Javier Cabrini, fundadora de la Congregación de las Misioneras del Sagrado Corazón, y el Beato Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, Obispo de Piacenza (Italia) y fundador de la Congregación de los Misioneros para los Emigrados italianos.

En el período inmediatamente siguiente a la Segunda Guerra Mundial, mientras se fundaban en las distintas naciones instituciones religiosas para la asistencia social a los inmigrados, se sentía la necesidad de una intervención de la Santa Sede para reactivar y reorganizar el amplio y complejo trabajo pastoral en este sector. Así, pues, fue publicada la Constitución Apostólica Exsul Familia, considerada como la magna charta de las enseñanzas de la Iglesia católica sobre las migraciones.

Con el Vaticano II, las diócesis, en general, se sensibilizaron acerca de su responsabilidad en esta pastoral. El Motu proprio Pastoralis Migratorum Cura, con la Instrucción De Pastorali Migratorum Cura (“Nemo est”), publicados en 1969, sirvieron de guía para el trabajo de puesta al día de la pastoral de los migrantes. Treinta y cinco años después, en 2004, la Instrucción Erga migrantes caritas Christi fue publicada por el Pontificio Consejo para la Pastoral de los Emigrantes e Itinerantes con el objeto de afrontar los nuevos problemas de los migrantes e invitar a los católicos a responder a ese desafío.

Las migraciones actuales

En el año 2000, las personas que vivían fuera de su país de origen eran 175 millones, es decir, aproximadamente el 3% de la población mundial. El 60% de ellas se encontraban en regiones desarrolladas. Europa recibía 56 millones de inmigrados, mientras en Asia eran 50 millones; en Norteamérica 41 millones; en África 16 millones; en América Central y del Sur 6 millones, y en Oceanía 6 millones. El cuadro total demostraba que los movimientos migratorios sur-sur eran superiores a los movimientos sur-norte.

En Europa occidental, los grupos de inmigrados más numerosos procedían de Europa meridional (Italia, Portugal, España y Grecia). Llegaban también de Turquía, de la ex-Yugoslavia y de África del Norte. En Europa central y oriental, los movimientos a través de las fronteras nacionales tenían una breve duración y cubrían cortas distancias. Se calcula que allí los movimientos migratorios eran sobre todo de tránsito hacia Europa occidental y más lejos. En los países de la ex-Unión Soviética, las migraciones se realizan sobre todo entre esos mismos países.

Desafortunadamente, había una presencia de indocumentados en gran escala. Se calculaba en unos 2,6 millones el número de extranjeros presentes en Europa con una situación irregular.

Las causas de las migraciones, hoy

Por lo general, se abandona el propio país cuando no existe la posibilidad, para uno y para la propia familia, de vivir dignamente y con seguridad, debido a la pobreza, a la violación de los derechos humanos, a la desigualdad de oportunidades, a la concentración de la riqueza en las manos de pocos, etc.

De todos modos, los mass media desempeñan un papel importante en la dinámica migratoria del mundo. Las informaciones que reciben las personas pueden ser determinantes para su decisión de salir. Las leyes restrictivas sobre las migraciones no las detienen; más bien estimulan el aumento de las migraciones irregulares, favoreciendo así el contrabando y el tráfico de seres humanos.

La situación migratoria

El sufrimiento, por lo general, acompaña el fenómeno migratorio, que, inevitablemente, da origen al desarraigo. El migrante entra en una sociedad totalmente distinta de la propia: lengua, mentalidad, leyes, cultura... Es vulnerable y fácilmente víctima de abusos y violaciones de sus derechos fundamentales. No es raro el prejuicio y/o la discriminación contra los migrantes, cuando no se trata incluso de racismo o xenofobia. Puede existir también la violencia contra ellos, no siempre física, pero con frecuencia psicológica y moral, como en los casos de marginación o exclusión.

La migración contemporánea se caracteriza por una creciente proporción de mujeres, sobre todo en el sector del trabajo doméstico y del recreo, sectores bastante vulnerables. Aumentan también las migraciones por motivos familiares, pero los problemas relativos a la separación familiar no han desaparecido. Existe, igualmente, la difícil situación de los menores no acompañados en la frontera y en los territorios extranjeros.

Debido a la migración, personas de distintas nacionalidades, religión, historia, lengua, tradición, valores, etc..., se encuentran y se confrontan. Dicha confrontación puede tener un impacto positivo o negativo.  

La respuesta de la Iglesia católica

La Iglesia católica responde a estas situaciones de distintas maneras. Ante todo, con su presencia allí donde están los migrantes, para compartir con ellos sus alegrías y esperanzas, tristezas y angustias. Concretamente, desarrolla actividades humanitarias, de solidaridad social, de “advocacy”, y de formación humana y cristiana. Esta es una expresión de su misión fundamental: proclamar la Buena Nueva de que Dios es amor, se encarnó por amor, y murió y resucitó para restaurar la unidad con Dios, perdida por el hombre.

La Iglesia, además, acompaña a los migrantes potenciales en el momento de decidir si han de embarcarse en el proceso migratorio o no. Además, trabaja en el diálogo, en distintos niveles: ecuménico e interreligioso, con los que no tienen una fe religiosa, y a nivel intercultural. La forma más común de diálogo es el de la vida, a través de simples gestos cotidianos de solidaridad, fraternidad y amor.

El diálogo, sin embargo, no debe ocultar, sino destacar, el don de la fe. Con gran respeto y atención por las tradiciones religiosas de los migrantes, los cristianos están llamados, pues, a dar testimonio del Evangelio del amor y a proclamar explícitamente la Palabra de Dios, para que la bendición del Señor, prometida a Abraham y a su descendencia llegue a todos. El diálogo y la evangelización, por tanto, no se oponen.

La respuesta de la Iglesia católica exige, desde luego, la cooperación entre las Iglesias locales, en especial entre la Iglesia de procedencia y la de llegada, para ayudar a los migrantes a formar parte de la comunidad cristiana local, donde nadie es extranjero.