Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 101, August 2006

LIBERATING THE SLAVES OF EUROPE. INTERVIEW* WITH ARCHBISHOP AGOSTINO MARCHETTO

ItÂ’s a sweltering day, but the man sitting before me appears to be unaffected by the heat. In more than 33 years of diplomatic service for the Holy See Archbishop Agostino Marchetto has travelled extensively and heÂ’s used to the rising temperatures. This nomadic existence means that heÂ’s well suited to his current role as head of the VaticanÂ’s [Holy See] Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

He has worked previously at the United Nations as the Church’s permanent observer to the Food and Agricultural Organisation and reveals that he has lived in 16 countries and can speak six languages. He describes learning a new language as an “obligation”. “If you are to live in a country you must learn to speak to the people,” he insists in a strong Italian accent.

As secretary of the Pontifical Council he is expected to oversee the Church’s ministry not only to the world’s vast population of migrants and itinerants, but also to refugees, internally displaced persons, international students, seafarers, nomads and even “circus and carnival people”.

But it is football and prostitution that have brought him most recently to public attention, with his outspoken attack on the World Cup brothels set up near the main stadium in Berlin. He has used the media frenzy surrounding the tournament to highlight the plight of women, mostly from the poorer regions of Europe, who, he says, are easy prey for those trafficking humans into western countries. Once there, they are forced to work in prostitution for the convenience of visiting football fans. He laments the fact that, women have become “market commodities, to be bought for less than a ticket for a football match”. The plight of these women, he says, highlights the importance of the Council’s work. “Our work involves alerting society and the public authorities that these women are there against their will and that they are subjected to this slavery,” he explains.

Although he speaks emphatically about his work, Archbishop Marchetto never loses a sense of humour, which adds a certain youth-fulness to his 65 years. But he frankly acknowledges that his responsibilities are challenging. “I was called to this kind of life. I didn’t choose it,” he says. “I am happy to have had this experience but I cannot say i thas been easy.”

In March this year Pope Benedict XVI announced that the PCMI would, henceforth, come under the control of Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Archbishop Agostino Marchetto insists the move will improve dialogue between the Vatican departments. “Talk of this move may be a sign that the Holy Father wants more collaboration amongst the Councils,” he says. “Maybe he considers the best way is to have one head leading the two. In any case, there is no fusion between the two for the moment.”

He tells me that his role at the PCMI is to communicate the Church’s teachings on migration and itineracy, which were summed up in the 2004 document Erga migrantes caritas Christi (The love of Christ towards migrants). “The great task for the council is to help people - starting with the bishops - to understand that there is a need for specific pastoral care for people on the move.

He admits that this is a hard undertaking, as many bishops and priests are already overstretched dealing with the material necessities of their own congregations. “Our aim is to animate the different episcopal conferences,” Archbishop Marchetto says. “To get them to take up this adventure and to show the motherhood of the Church, which is going on with the people on the move and to try and evangelise them and to help them understand that Jesus was also a migrant; a refugee who needed acceptance.”

Although official figures show that the number of reported refugees is in decline, Archbishop Marchetto believes that this could be a sign that asylum seekers are not being attended to properly in their resident country. He points to a tendency among governments to reduce attention on the problem while also limiting the number of available legal applications. However, the biggest problem facing the Council today is the rising number of internally displaced people.

“Nomadic people are a rising issue for the European Union,”  the archbishop explains. “We have the inclusion of new member states, in which many millions of gypsies are still living with a lot of problems, such as discrimination because of social attitudes and a lack of education. “The media are not helping in their coverage of issues involving gypsies,” he says. “As usual, the bad things are reported more frequently - their offences and clashes with others - and the good are ignored. There is an imbalance and a tendency to stress the prejudices that already exist in society.”

Yet he chooses his words carefully when asked about “reverse colonization” ^_  a massive influx of immigrants from former colonial countries - threatening the British way of life. “Migration is becoming a permanent structural phenomenon of contemporary society,” he says “It is linked to the process of globalisation. It is a fact and you cannot avoid it.” The Church has recognised the marked change in immigration patterns, with increasing numbers of immigrants coming from non-Christian cultures into Europe. But the archbishop doesnÂ’t see this as a threat, but rather as an opportunity for dialogue with other religions.

“If the receiving states remain united, and in communion with the identity of their nation and with the legitimate values of their country and way of life, then there is a chance that a dialogue will be established with these new citizens, where we can respect their legitimate values,” he comments.

“We can then live together so that a new humanity will be formed as we are one family in the world.”

But there are conditions to this welcome. “Immigrants must be accepting of our laws, of our values and of accepting our identity. The dangers occur when we do not respect ourselves then, certainly, there is a risk that other people will want to come in and impose their will on us.  Â“Our judgment must be historical. I donÂ’t think that at present there is a real danger of being ‘colonisedÂ’.”

When asked to comment on America, which is introducing tough new laws on illegal immigration, Archbishop Marchetto said he was greatly encouraged by the response of the bishops of Mexico and the United States. “Fortunately there is a beautiful example of cooperation between the bishops in the United States and the bishops of Mexico,” he said. “We accept that the influx of migrants must be regulated and that governments have the right to regulate this. But in addition they must take into consideration the human rights and the universal good of humanity.”

The archbishop is keen to never lose sight of hope. Fittingly, this week sees the start of Refugee Awareness Week with its theme of “hope”. Archbishop Marchetto sees this as a “confirmation of the great lack of hope in the world nowadays”. “People are more easily overwhelmed by the sentiment that humanity is dominated by evil and injustice, which denies human dignity. We stress the point that we must be witnesses of hope because we know that it is hope that makes one live and that no one can envisage life without hope.”

During his visit to Britain, the archbishop spoke at the Apostleship of the Sea’s national conference, where he addressed the theme of “Solidarity with the People of the Sea as Witnesses of Hope through Proclamation of the Word, Liturgy and Diakonia.” He also visited the Apostleship’s ecumenical centre in Southampton, where he celebrated Mass on board the MV Nordsee vessel where Russian, Ukrainian and Philippino seafarers made up the crew. “I was told afterwards that it was a nice Mass,” he recalls with a smile. “Only in England would you get praise for giving a good service.”