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 Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 106, April 2008

 

 

Vatican Radio interviewS

Archbishop Agostino Marchetto,

ON THE 94th World Day of Migrants and Refugees* 

 

1)   On Sunday 13th January the Church will celebrate the World Day of the Migrants and the Refugees: what is its nature and content?

Such a celebration, in effect, repeats itself annually from the time when was instituted by Pope Benedict XV, whose pontificate beginning, in 1914, coincided with the outbreak of the First World War. Then the range of destinations was more limited. The disasters of that awful conflict (the “useless massacre”) carried with it, along with the other plagues, the emigration of entire populations. The Pope (he later came to be known as “the Pope of the peace”), in answer, went out of his way to assist the victims, naming in Italy a Bishop who took care of the refugees and wished that a “Day of Immigrants” would be celebrated. That next, on 13th January, is, therefore, the 94th World Day, “mutatis mutandis”. The Holy Father Benedict XVI rendered his Message public for this occasion on 28th November of last year, dedicating attention to “young migrants”. It was presented at the Sala Stampa by the Superiors of this Pontifical Council, each of whom illustrated a sector of interest from the Message: economic migrants, refugees and foreign students. 

2)  What are the key points of the Message?

The Holy Father invites us to reflect clearly on the young migrant people, starting from the understanding that “The result is that many times the young people endowed with the best intellectual resources leave their countries of origin, whilst in the countries that must receive the migrants, laws are in force that make their actual insertion difficult”. From this the Pope deduces that “rightly therefore, the public institutions, humanitarian organisations and also the catholic Church are dedicating many of their resources to helping these people in difficulty.”

The young migrants are particularly sensitive - the Holy Father says - to the problems that derive from the so-called “difficulty of dual belonging”. Between them, indicates Benedict XVI, are young women “who fall victim more easily to exploitation, moral forms of blackmail, and even abuses of all kinds”, whilst unaccompanied adolescents and minors “often end up on the street abandoned to themselves and prey to unscrupulous exploiters”.

Next, particular attention is given to young refugees and to foreign students. Firstly, in order to limit myself to the very important issue of education, the Holy Father also asserts that “adequate programmes will have to be prepared, both in the scholastic and the work contexts, in order to guarantee their preparation and provide the necessary bases for a correct insertion into the new social, cultural and professional world.” For the international students the Pope hopes that they will be helped “to find a way to open up to the dynamism of interculturality and be enriched in their contact with other students of different cultures and religions. For young Christians, this study and formation experience can be a useful area for the maturation of their faith, a stimulus to be open to the universalism that is a constitutive element of the Catholic Church”. 

3)   How do we live up to these intentions in the lives of young migrants?

In effect, there are three difficulties, because they are minors, foreigners and they are in general alone. These three expressions of vulnerability should help us to create one new sensibility , in order “to see” a childhood that it is even on our roads and of which is spoken rarely. Therefore it is urgent to lay plans in order to become familiarized to welcome and integration, especially with the predisposition of a system for the protection of unaccompanied foreign minors. For example, in Italy there are 6,572 unaccompanied minors. The prevalence being found in minors coming from Morocco, Albania and Palestine.

The Holy Father, in this context, has given a “push with the shoulder” – forgive me the expression - to the international conscience by asking essential questions, above all for the children in the refugee camps, therefore: “How can we not think that these little beings have come into the world with the same legitimate expectations of happiness as others? And, at the same time, how can we not remember that childhood and adolescence are fundamentally important stages for the development of a man and a woman that require stability, serenity and security?”.  

4)  What hopes are there for the Catholic celebration of the World Day of the Migrants and Refugees?

The World Day is an opportunity in order to recognize the contribution that millions of migrants, the majority of whom are young, give in various ways to development, and therefore to the well-being, above all economically, in many Countries of the world. It is directly an appeal to put an end to all the forms of abuse and violence against them and their families – and I think especially of the young and children –. It could be an occasion to take a clear engagement to ratify the Convention of the UN on the protection of the rights of all the migrant workers and the members of their families, expressly mentioned in the Papal Message of the previous year.

The authoritative voice of Benedict XVI, in continuity with his predecessor who shares the same name, Benedict XV, remembers that migrants, refugees and the international students are often victims of an unjust world. In effect, there is still today hunger and situations of inhumanity that especially push the young to run serious risks in order to try to make a better life in a foreign country. The international community cannot ignore its responsibilities with regard to this and is called to provide a proper integration of migrants in the countries of arrival and the protection of their dignity.


 

* 9th January 2008. 

 

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