Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 101, August 2006

GLOBAL MEET 

OF SYRO-MALABAR MIGRANTS

(Letter to Bishop Gregory Karotemprel)  

Vatican City, 5 July 2006

Prot. N. 2451/2006/M  

Your Grace,

On the occasion of the historical “Global Meet of Syro-Malabar Migrants”, which will be held in Mt. St. Thomas, Kakkanand, India, from August 18 to 21, 2006, I wish to express the sincere appreciation of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People for this initiative.

We know the pain and suffering that inevitably accompanies migration, irrespective of whether it is voluntarily or forcibly done. Being uprooted is never easy. Immersion in a socio-cultural context that is different from what one grew up in can cause insecurity, to say the least, and a disruption in points of reference. A new culture, with other customs, traditions and even food, where a different language may be spoken can be disorienting. For this reason it is an excellent idea to study together responses to problems that migrants face in a foreign country.

It would even be more confusing for Syro-Malabar migrants, if not adequately prepared. They may not immediately feel at home in the local Church of the destination country, if the Syro-Malabar rite is not there. Hence, it is necessary that they be given formation and information, including what specific pastoral care the Church provides for them, to enable them to be integrated into the local Church and at the same time keep their identity (cf. Erga migrantes caritas Christi, nos. 52-55). 

However, those who were born in the country into which their parents migrated may be more familiar with the traditions of local Church rather than that of their own. Also, those who have left India a long time ago may have “forgotten” a bit their own Syro-Malabar patrimony. It is therefore important to have the present opportunity to come back to their roots, and experience and know more profoundly the rich heritage of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

This Pontifical Council therefore follows this Global Meet with prayers, wishing you all God’s choicest blessings.                                                                                                  

Sincerely yours in the Lord, 

Renato Raffaele Cardinal Martino

President 

Archbishop Agostino Marchetto

Secretary 

_____________________________

His Grace 

Bishop Gregory Karotemprel, CMI

Chairman

Commission for Evangelization and Pastoral Care of Migrants

The Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church

Rajkot

Gujarat (India)