Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 101, August 2006

Introductory address 

at the icmc council meeting

(1^st July 2006)

Cardinal Renato Raffaele MARTINO

President

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care

 of Migrants and Itinerant People

Dear friends,

In his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees this year, Pope Benedict XVI identified migration as undoubtedly “one of the recognizable signs of the times today”, which has “taken on structural characteristics, becoming an important factor of the labor market worldwide”, also as a result of globalization. The latest figures provided by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, on-line, reported that in 2005, there were 190.6 million international immigrants worldwide, of whom 50.4% were male, which means that almost as many women as men are involved in the migration phenomenon. More than half of the world’s international migrants were living in Europe and in North America, while less than a third were in Asia.

As the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes affirms, it is the duty of the Church, that walks through history to share with all human beings their joys and hopes, grief and anxieties (cf. no. 1), to scrutinize the signs of the times and to interpret them in the light of the Gospel (cf. no. 4). This would enable her sons and daughters to identify and understand “the world in which we live, its expectations, its longings and its often dramatic characteristics” (ibid.). This is indeed not a sociological interpretation of human realities, but a reading in the light of faith, “for faith throws a new light on everything, manifests God’s design for man’s total vocation, and thus directs the mind to solutions which are fully human” (GS 11).   

Erga migrantes caritas Christi

Our Instruction Erga migrantes caritas Christi scrutinized migration, considering it “a significant sign of the times, a challenge to be discovered and utilised in our work to renew humanity and proclaim the gospel of peace” (EMCC 14).

It notes that the plight of the people involved in the phenomenon of migration (cf. EMCC 1) has always been and continues to be a source of concern for the Church, which “has always contemplated the image of Christ” in migrants (cf. EMCC 12). It knows the serious problems they face: discrimination, racism and xenophobia[1], deception regarding contracts or conditions of work, being treated as tools and not as persons, dangerous occupations, long working hours, lower pay than that of native workers for the same job[2], poor housing or none, non-integration into social life, and so on[3]. 

Indeed migration entails a lot of suffering. Even the most voluntary human mobility 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 customs, traditions, culture, mentality, 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. However, there is also forced human mobility. A good number of people would have stayed in their own countries if conditions had been different, but wars, violence, persecution, hunger and natural calamities have driven them out. And even without reaching these extremes, people leave their countries because they and their families can no longer live with dignity, well-being and economic security in their homeland due to poverty, unequal opportunities, concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, and so on. They look for better opportunities and a better future elsewhere. As a result no society has been left untouched by international migration, whether as a place of origin, transit, or destination of economic migrants, whether regular or irregular, refugees, internally displaced people, or even victims of trafficking in human beings.

Yet Erga migrantes caritas Christi considers the suffering and pain that accompany migration as nothing else but “the birth-pangs of a new humanity” (EMCC 12). Migration is, in fact, also a journey of hope, of reaching out for a better future, for oneself and one’s family. Migrants look forward to this chance to flee from danger and to enjoy their human rights, to live freely and make use of their talents and capacities to the utmost. It is also an opportunity to give and to share: time, efforts, work, gifts… 

We can probably say that the migration phenomenon has moved forward through the years and now it can become an opportunity for people to “get to know one another and … for dialogue and communion, or indeed integration at various levels” (EMCC 2). Citing Pope John Paul II’s Message for the World Day for Peace in 2001 (no.12), it affirmed that “in the case of many civilisations, immigration has brought new growth and enrichment” or at least the “chance” to live together in harmony (cf. EMCC 2).

“The inequalities and disparities behind … [the] suffering [of migrants] reveal the deep wounds that sin causes in the human family. Thus they are an urgent appeal for true fraternity” (ibid.) to which the Church must respond, if it is to be faithful to its vocation. 

Teaching of the Church on migration

The message of Church documents and teaching to governments and all those responsible for decisions in these difficult situations is clear: They must protect migrants from the evils involved in migration (cf. EMCC 30) and work together with all nations to deal with it at its roots, which could mean, for instance, seeking a just global economic order[4]. Families and educational institutions in the host nations are called upon to welcome foreigners, considering it a duty imposed by human solidarity and by Christian charity. It is however from its own ranks that the Church expects welcome for the migrant first of all. Local Churches have a special call to solidarity with people involved in migration and to formation of public opinion to promote justice for them[5].  

In particular, for programs in the field of migration to be effective, collaboration between the countries of origin and destination is necessary, as well as “adequate norms capable of harmonizing the various legislative provisions” (EMCC8). This will ensure the protection of the rights of migrants and their families, as well as those of the members of the local host population (see EMCC 8). Pastoral care itself in this area requires close cooperation between the Church of origin and the Church of destination (cf. EMCC 70). 

As we can see from recent pontifical declarations, pastoral prospects regarding migration have been developed according to the vision of Â“man as the way of the Church” (RH 14), emphasizing the rights of the human person, denouncing social and economic imbalances, the dangers of unrestrained globalization and the serious problems related to irregular migration, which could come hand in hand with the smuggling and trafficking of human beings (cf. EMCC 29). 

Specific expressions of the Church’s solicitude 

A tangible sign of the Church’s concern for migrants is the establishment of specific “structures” for their pastoral care. The central organ is the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, charged with the task “to stimulate, promote and animate opportune pastoral initiatives in favour of those who, by choice or through necessity, leave their normal place of residence, as well as to carefully follow the social, economic and cultural questions that are usually at the origin of such movements” (EMCC 32; cf. ib. art. 22). The Pontifical Council is directly in contact with the Episcopal Conferences and their Regional or Continental Councils, through the Episcopal Commissions for questions on human mobility in general, or specifically on migration, and with the corresponding Episcopal Structures of the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as with the individual Bishops and Hierarchs. They are kindly urged to “implement a specific pastoral care for persons involved in the ever growing phenomenon of human mobility and to adopt suitable provisions as called for by the changing situations” (EMCC 32).

There are also Organizations specifically established for the assistance of migrants and refugees. Among these, the first one mentioned in Erga migrantes caritas Christi is the International Catholic Migration Commission (cf. EMCC 33). As Pope Benedict XVI states in the encyclical Deus caritas est, there is an ongoing increase in “diversified organizations engaged in meeting various human needs … ultimately due to the fact that the command of love of neighbor is inscribed by the Creator in man’s very nature” (no. 31). From this we can see how much Christianity’s influence has spread even beyond the frontiers of its faith communities. “For this reason,” Pope Benedict continues, “it is very important that the Church’s charitable activity maintains all of its splendor and does not become just another form of social assistance” (ibid.). Following are the essential elements of Christian and ecclesial charity that the Holy Father listed down, which I believe is important to bear in mind as you begin your meeting (ibid.):

1. Christian charity is first of all the simple response to immediate needs and specific situations, like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, etc. The Church’s charitable organizations should do everything in their power to provide resources and most of all personnel needed for this work. Professional competence is a fundamental requirement for them, but it is not enough. “Those who work for the Church’s charitable organizations must be distinguished by the fact that they do not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate themselves to others with heartfelt concern, enabling them to experience the richness of their humanity.”  
2. No partisanship. “We contribute to a better world only by personally doing good now, with full commitment and wherever we have the opportunity, independently of partisan strategies and programmes. The Christian’s programme -- … the programme of Jesus – is ‘a heart which sees’. This heart sees where love is needed and acts accordingly.”
3. No proselytism. “Those who practice charity in the Church’s name will never seek to impose the Church’s faith upon others. … He knows that God is love and that God’s presence is felt at the very time when the only thing we do is to love”. 

To conclude, I re-affirm Holy Father’s words saying that “the true subject of the various Catholic organizations that carry out a ministry of charity” - including ICMC therefore - “is the Church herself”. With regard to the personnel who carry out the Church’s charitable activity, “they must not be inspired by ideologies aimed at improving the world, but should rather be guided by the faith which works through love. Consequently, more than anything, they must be persons moved by Christ’s love, persons whose hearts Christ has conquered with love, awakening within them a love of neighbour” (ibid., 33). 

May the present session then be inspired by St. Paul’s statement to the Corinthians, which opens the Instruction Erga migrantes caritas Christi: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14). Thank you.