Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 105, December 2007

The Role and Action of the Catholic Church in favor of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in connection with the Church’s presence in airports* 

Nilda M. CASTRO

Official of the Civil Aviation Apostolate Sector

 of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care

of Migrants and Itinerant People

I am here as an Observer, representing the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, which has a sector dedicated to Civil Aviation Apostolate, and I bring you the cordial greetings of the Superiors of our Dicastery of the Roman Curia.

Barely a month after his election to the Pontificate in April 2005, Pope Benedict XVI spoke in favor of refugees in connection with the celebration of World Refugee Day, promoted by the United Nations every 20th of June. (I wish to mention that the Catholic Church also celebrates the World Day of Migrants and Refugees every year on the Second Sunday after Epiphany.) The Pope emphasized “the strength of spirit demanded of those who have to leave everything, sometimes even their family, to escape grave problems and dangers.”[1] He also affirmed that the Christian community “feels close to all who are experiencing this painful condition” and therefore tries its best “to encourage them” and show them “its interest and love”. [2] This is done through “concrete gestures of solidarity so that everyone who is far from his own Country will feel the Church as a homeland where no one is a stranger.”[3]

For the same occasion the following year, 2006, Pope Benedict expressed “the hope that the rights of these people will always be respected”.[4]

This year, the UN’s World Refugee Day fell on a Wednesday, and from Pope Paul VI Audience Hall, the Holy Father voiced out an appeal[5] “to welcome refugees and give them hospitality” as “gestures of human solidarity” and as an expression “of evangelical love” on the part of Christians. Not only this, he also expressed the “heartfelt wish that these brothers and sisters of ours, who have gone through the harsh ordeal of suffering, may be guaranteed asylum and the recognition of their rights”. This time, he invited “the leaders of Nations to offer protection to those who find themselves in such delicate situations of need.”

So far I have cited words that the Holy Father said on the occasion of World Refugee Days promoted by the United Nations, but he also sends a Message every year for the Catholic celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, that I previously mentioned.

The refugee phenomenon has always been in the heart of the Catholic Church. Already in the Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris, signed on 11 April 1963, Pope John XXIII affirmed that “refugees are persons and all their rights as persons must be recognized”.[6] Since then, the Catholic Church has not ceased to appeal to the international community in their favour and to call for solidarity and collaboration from each individual Christian and person of goodwill. 

The Church’s mission

In 1981, just a few years after the beginning of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II asserted that what the Church is doing in favour of refugees is an integral part of its mission. During his visit to the Refugee Camp in Morong, in the Philippines, on 21 February 1981, he said: “The fact that the Church carries out extensive relief efforts on behalf of refugees, especially in recent years, should not be a source of surprise to anyone. Indeed this is an integral part of the Church's mission in the world.”[7]

At a later date, the Holy Father defined the nature of this mission: "The Church's mission for our brothers and sisters who are migrants or refugees is unique.… Although dealing respectfully and generously with their material problems is the first duty to be fulfilled, one must not forget their spiritual formation, through specific pastoral programmes which take into account their language and culture."[8] Assistance, therefore, takes into consideration both the material and the spiritual needs of the individual.

Moreover, just like any person who needs a family for his proper growth and development, refugees too must not be deprived of a family. For this reason the Church has always called for the reunification of families whose separation is caused by the flight of one of its members. In his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees this year[9], Pope Benedict the XVI brought to the attention of the public the plight of the families of refugees:

 I feel it my duty to call your attention to the families of refugees, whose conditions seem to have gone worse in comparison with the past, also specifically regarding the reunification of family nuclei. In the camps assigned to them, in addition to logistic difficulties, and those of a personal character linked to the trauma and emotional stress caused by the tragic experiences they went through, sometimes there is also the risk of women and children being involved in sexual exploitation, as a survival mechanism. In these cases an attentive pastoral presence is necessary. Aside from giving assistance capable of healing the wounds of the heart, pastoral care should also offer the support of the Christian community, able to restore the culture of respect and have the true value of love found again. It is necessary to encourage those who are interiorly-wrecked to recover trust in themselves. Everything must also be done to guarantee the rights and dignity of the families and to assure them housing facilities according to their needs.

Going back to 1992, the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” and our Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People jointly published the Document entitled Refugees, a Challenge to Solidarity.[10] Regarding help to refugees, it clearly states that the responsibility to offer refugees hospitality, solidarity and assistance lies first of all with the local Church ( no. 26).

However, the Church feels it also her mission to build awareness among all those who are in the position to do something that the refugee situation has to change. It cannot and should not last forever. Speaking to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the Holy Father stated: “The Church believes that it is also her duty to exhort the authorities to change this situation.… It is necessary to repeat that this is an abnormal situation, that it is necessary to give a remedy to their causes, by trying to convince nations that refugees have a right to freedom and to human dignity in their country. It is also necessary to appeal more and more for hospitality, admittance into countries that can receive refugees. Finally, it is necessary to organize international mutual aid, a reciprocal help that does not dispense the refugees from taking care of themselves little by little, since this too is a path of dignity.”[11]

The Holy See once again appealed for solidarity at a Ministerial Conference of the 140 Signatory States of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, held on 9th December 2001 in Geneva, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, on behalf of the Holy See Delegation, affirmed: “Our task is to make solidarity a reality. It implies acceptance and recognition of the fact that we, as one human family, are interdependent. It calls us to international cooperation in favour of the poor and powerless as our own brothers and sisters.… Effective responsibility and burden sharing among all States is therefore indispensable to promote peace and stability. This should be an inspiration for the human family of nations to reflect on the challenges of today and find the required solutions in a spirit of dialogue and mutual understanding.”[12] 

The Right of Sovereign States

It is commonly accepted that it is the legitimate right of sovereign States to take measures against illegal or clandestine immigration.[13] There is, however, an essential difference between people fleeing persecution (refugees and asylum seekers) and those seeking unauthorized entry as irregular migrants, as well as between "those who flee economic conditions that threaten their lives and physical safety" and "those who emigrate simply to improve their position"[14]. When, as in many countries, the causes are hatred and systematic or violent exclusion of ethnic or religious minorities from society, then civil, political, ethnic and even religious conflicts ensue, making the flood of refugees overflow.[15]

Speaking at the 28th Conference of European Ministers of Justice, which was held in Lanzarote, Spain, from October 25 to 26, this year, the Holy See Delegate affirmed that regarding the situation of political asylum seekers and refugees, it is necessary to note “that legal procedures are generally limited to authorizing their entry into the country,” and do not take into consideration “the reasons that bring such people to escape from their native countries.” He therefore remarked that “alongside humanitarian commitment, it is necessary to promulgate norms and procedures that translate the typical forms of … solidarity into legal terms, recognizing that, by reason of their dignity and the rights deriving therefrom, people must not be subject to discrimination.” [16]

On the other hand, refugees and asylum seekers have their duties to observe, with respect to the receiving state. As a matter of fact, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated this in his Message for the Catholic World Day of Migrants and Refugees this year: “Refugees are asked to cultivate an open and positive attitude towards their receiving society and maintain an active willingness to accept offers to participate in building together an integrated community that would be a ‘common household’ for all.”[17]  

Rights of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

In confronting the problem of refugees, "the first point of reference should not be the interests of the State or national security but the human person." This implies full respect for the refugee's human rights as well as the safeguard of his "need to live in community, a basic requirement of the very nature of human beings."[18]

Following is a list (which is not exhaustive) of some human rights that need to be particularly defended in the case of refugees and asylum seekers.

These are rights that the Catholic Church has always upheld.[19]

1. Man must not be deprived of the fundamental right to live and breathe in the country where he was born.[20]
2. Refugees have the right to establish a family or to be reunited with their families;[21] to have a stable, dignified occupation and a just wage; to live in dwellings fit for human beings; to receive adequate education for their children and young people, as well as adequate health care - in a word, all those rights solemnly sanctioned since 1951 in the Convention of the United Nations on the Statute for Refugees, and confirmed in the 1967 Protocol on the same Statute.[22]
3. Any person in danger who appears at a frontier has a right to protection.[23]
4. A person applying for asylum should not be interned unless it can be demonstrated that he or she represents a real danger, or there are compelling reasons to think that he or she will not report to the competent authorities for due examination of his or her case.[24] Moreover, such people should be helped with access to work and to a just and rapid legal procedure.
5. No person must be sent back to a country where he or she fears discriminatory action or serious life-threatening situations. In cases where the competent government authorities decided not to accept asylum seekers, arguing that they are not true refugees, these authorities are duty-bound to make sure that such people will be guaranteed a secure and free existence elsewhere.[25]
6. All refugees have the right to a type of assistance that includes their spiritual needs during the time of asylum spent in a camp and during the process of integration in the host country.[26] Therefore ministers of different religions must be allowed full freedom to meet with refugees, to live with them and to offer them an adequate assistance.
7. Refugees cannot lose their rights, not even when they are deprived of their country's citizenship.[27]
8. Each country has the responsibility to respect the rights of refugees and assure that they are respected as much as the rights of its own citizens.[28]
9. International organizations, especially those responsible for the protection of human rights, and the communications media should have free access to [refugee] camps. Camps must remain what they were intended to be: an emergency and therefore temporary solution.[29]

Challenges for Solidarity and International Cooperation

The Catholic Church is aware of the gravity of the refugee problem and the inhuman conditions suffered by refugees.[30] She feels that this serious problem can be defied only if there is a sincere international effort to work together towards a solution.

As she expresses her appreciation for what individual governments do for refugees and gratitude for the work done by local Churches and Church organizations in this regard, the Catholic Church has continuously called for international support for such efforts. When the International John XXIII Peace Prize of 1986 was awarded to the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR), a Church organization based in Thailand, the Holy Father said:

The recognition that was given to COERR today clearly underlines the importance that the Apostolic See attaches to the work that the Organization is doing in one of the most tormented afflicted zones in the world in this century.…

The Thai people is giving an example of solidarity towards persons in difficulty.… It has opened its doors and its heart to these neighbours.… The Thai people must not be left alone in bearing the heavy burden of responsibility and assistance in that region of the world.…

It is necessary for the different Nations in the world to collaborate in order to be able to offer a new country where those who want it may settle down. Only political solidarity in a wide scale can give a satisfactory solution to this serious and old problem.[31]

More recently, in his address to the Council Members of the International Catholic Migration Commission, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation, Pope John Paul II underlined the importance of advocacy with governments and international organizations, as well as of ecumenical and inter-religious cooperation:

In the time since your foundation, … your work grows more urgent as the problem of refugees grows ever more acute.… I wish to invite you to an ever deeper awareness of your mission: to see Christ in every brother and sister in need, to proclaim and defend the dignity of every migrant, every displaced person and every refugee. In this way, assistance given will not be considered an alms from the goodness of our heart, but an act of justice due to them.

We live in a world in which … we see greater ethnic, cultural and religious tensions…. That is why the Commission’s advocacy with governments and international organizations and its promotion of laws and policies to protect the defenceless are especially important aspects of its mission. [32]

During the III World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees,[33] Pope John Paul II very aptly summarized what the Catholic Church believes international solidarity should consist in:

However demanding it may be, this effort at real international solidarity, based on a broader concept of the common good, is the way which can guarantee everyone a truly better future. In order for this to happen, it is necessary for a culture of solidarity and interdependence to spread and deeply penetrate the universal conscience and in this way sensitize public authorities, international organizations and private citizens to the duty of accepting and sharing with those who are poorest.

                But the long-term planning of policies which promote solidarity must be accompanied by attention to the immediate problems of migrants and refugees who continue to press against the borders of the nations which enjoy a high level of industrial development.

                In the recent Encyclical Centesimus annus I stated: 'It will be necessary to abandon a mentality in which the poor - as individuals and as peoples - are considered a burden, as irksome intruders.… The advancement of the poor constitutes a great opportunity for the moral, cultural and even economic growth of all humanity.…

                It is not enough, however, to open one's doors … and allow them to enter; one must also make it easier for them to become a real part of the society which receives them. Solidarity must become a daily experience of assistance, sharing and participation.[34]

Our Intruction Erga migrantes caritas Christi explains further what welcoming migrants and refugees means :

It is of course useful and correct to distinguish between assistance in a general sense (a first, short-term welcome), true welcome in the full sense (longer-term projects) and integration (an aim to be pursued constantly over a long period and in the true sense of the word). Pastoral workers with competence in cultural mediation – and our Catholic communities too should ensure that they have such people – are called upon to help bridge the legitimate requirements of order, legality and social security with the Christian vocation to welcome others with practical expressions of love.[35]

Discussing Pope John Paul II’s view regarding globalization, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto underlined the need to “globalize solidarity” and everyone’s responsibility to be a primary actor in this regard:

Solidarity is the Christian response, both personal and collective, also for globalization, It begins in everyone’s heart, when he considers the other – and not only the poor – a brother, a sister, rather even more, because he is a member of the Body of Christ itself. And in exercising responsibility, no one can take my place in doing what I can do. Let each one of us therefore feel called to respond personally.[36]

The Catholic Church also calls for the protection of the rights of displaced persons who have not crossed their country's frontiers:

The protection of human rights of internally displaced persons requires the adoption of specific and appropriate juridical instruments and of mechanisms of coordination on the part of the international community, whose legitimate interventions cannot be considered as violations of national sovereignty.[37]

Ecumenical and Interreligious Collaboration

These appeals in favour of refugees must be rendered concrete, and to do this the Catholic Church counts also on cooperation with the different Churches and ecclesial communities, and with other religions, as attested to by the following citations respectively from the aforesaid joint document of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" and our Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Refugees, A Challenge to Solidarity, and from Pope John Paul II's Speech to the participants in the III World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees:

Cooperation among the various Christian Churches and the various non-Christian religions in this charitable work will lead to new advances in the search for and the implementation of a deeper unity of the human family.[38]

and

The (Catholic) Church is happy to establish relations of respect, esteem and collaboration with people of any religion or race. She guarantees everyone her service for the full recognition of human rights and the defence of justice. Interreligious dialogue, which today is so open and widespread, provided that it safeguards the necessary demands of the truth, represents a privileged way for believers of different religions to meet, in order to foster the unity of the human family and promote peace in the world.[39]

The Pope reiterated this later to the ICMC Council Members:

The soul of your work is a vision of human dignity which is based upon the truth of the human person created in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:26), a truth which illumines the entire Social Teaching of the Church. From this vision there flows a sense of inalienable rights which do not depend on any human power to concede or deny, for they are rights which have their source in God. This is a profoundly religious vision which is shared not only by other Christians, but also by many followers of the other great religions of the world.… I urge you, therefore, … never to grow weary in the search for new modes of ecumenical and interreligious cooperation, which are needed now more than ever.[40]

Pastoral Care of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in airports

The Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus entrusts to our Pontifical Council also the pastoral care of “those who are employed or work in airports or on airplanes”. Our Dicastery therefore articulated this specific pastoral care by publishing some key points of reference in the Catholic Civil Aviation Pastoral Directives[41], in 1995. This Document states that aside from the aforementioned people, Civil Aviation Ministry “is also directed to passengers and to special categories like refugees in airport holding centers, stranded people, homeless people taking refuge in the airport, and the like”, when necessity demands or usefulness requires it (no. 5). It is therefore clear that the people confined to detention centers in airports are intended recipients of the concern of airport chaplains and pastoral agents.

This is in consonance with what is stated in the Document on Refugees previously mentioned: “The responsibility to offer refugees hospitality, solidarity and assistance lies first of all with the local Church. She is called on to incarnate the demands of the Gospel, reaching out without distinction towards these people in their moment of need and solitude. Her task takes on various forms: personal contact; defense of the rights of individuals and groups; the denunciation of the injustices that are at the root of this evil; action for the adoption of laws that will guarantee their effective protection; education against xenophobia; the creation of groups of volunteers and of emergency funds; pastoral care.”[42] This of course implies cooperation with other forces in the local Church, especially when other tasks and responsibilities for other recipients of pastoral care in airports need to be fulfilled.

In some airports the Catholic chaplaincy members do much for those who are detained in holding centers. They visit them regularly and try to see how they can be helped concretely, especially regarding their basic needs. They listen to them and give them advice, which is more important than what people usually realize. Of course, they also respond to the pastoral and sacramental needs of Catholics. They try to have good relations with the airport security personnel, because this is essential to be able to give proper aid to these people in need. They also work with other agencies present in the airport to assist irregular migrants and asylum seekers.

In others, more could indeed be done. Some airport chaplains, especially those who do not work full-time, feel they cannot cope with such demands of pastoral work in the airport and are afraid that they are not prepared and cannot adequately handle getting involved in the situation of people detained in holding centers. 

The problem needs to be known better and a greater awareness- building is necessary. Indeed collaboration is an important aspect in facing the needs of those who are in airport detention centers: between airport chaplaincy members, Catholics and those belonging to other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, and all other agents – social workers, lawyers, medical and paramedical workers, interpreters, cultural mediators, etc. – working in the airports. Another important collaboration is that between airport chaplaincies in different countries.

Our Pontifical Council, is indeed concerned with the plight of people detained in airport holding centers and would be happy to see a greater involvement of Catholic airport chaplaincies in this regard, of course with an active collaboration with pastoral agents and organizations specifically destined to work among irregular migrants and asylum seekers.  

Conclusion

In the early eighties Pope John Paul II declared what he felt could be the solution to the refugee problem. What he said then is just as true today:

In the last analysis, the [refugee] problem cannot be solved without creating the conditions through which a genuine reconciliation can take place: reconciliation among nations, among the various sectors of a given national community, within each ethnic group and among ethnic groups. In a word, there is an urgent need to forgive and to forget the past and to work together to build a better future.[43]

Moreover, the Holy Father exhorted:

May the memory of how much mankind had suffered during the last world war which forced millions of people to flee, abandoning their own homes and lands promote an acute sensitivity to the same tragedies wherever they may occur. May it lead us to work tirelessly so that discord and divisions may come to an end, as well as ideological and power rivalries; so that the inhuman logic of egoism may be rejected and respect for man prevail. This will allow the construction of the civilization of truth and love, in the solidarity among all peoples.[44]

To conclude, let me bring back to mind the Holy Father's words directed to those who work in favour of refugees:

            You are peacemakers and you deserve to be called blessed by God, because you have recognized the face of his Son in the thousands of faces that you have encountered in your work among refugees and in those who have been tried by sad and painful events.

                Dear Friends, your work is not yet over, It will not end as long as there will be people who suffer around you, and you, sensitive to their cry, will answer by giving them the means to preserve and reaffirm their dignity. Do not tire of devoting yourselves to them whose lives have been disrupted and whose future is uncertain.… Instill in them, by word and example, love for the human being, for men and women, for the children and the aged, so that the very same spirit that animates your apostolic efforts may inspire and guide them today and tomorrow. Moved by such love, after finding their rightful place in the world, they will help others and themselves become bearers of that charity that will make them builders of peace in this divided world.”[45] 

Riassunto 

Il ruolo e l’azione della Chiesa cattolica a favore dei rifugiati e richiedenti asilo in relazione alla presenza della Chiesa negli aeroporti 

Solo un mese dopo la sua elezione a Sommo Pontefice, nell’aprile 2005, Benedetto XVI affermava che la comunità cristiana si sente vicino ai rifugiati e cerca di mostrare il suo interesse e amore attraverso gesti concreti di solidarietà. Nel 2006 esprimeva la speranza che i loro diritti siano sempre rispettati. Nel 2007 faceva un appello ai cristiani di accogliere i rifugiati esprimendo così solidarietà umana e amore evangelico. Invitava inoltre i leader delle nazioni ad offrire protezione a coloro che si trovano in tali situazioni delicate.

La Chiesa cattolica ha sempre serbato in cuore il fenomeno dei rifugiati. Già nell’enciclica “Pacem in Terris”, pubblicata nel 1963, Giovanni XXIII affermò che i rifugiati sono persone e i loro diritti vanno riconosciuti. Da allora la Chiesa non cessò mai ad invocare solidarietà e collaborazione a loro favore.

Nel 1981 Giovanni Paolo II affermò che l’opera della Chiesa a favore dei rifugiati fa parte integrale della sua missione, che prende in considerazione sia i bisogni materiali che spirituali delle persone. Essi, poi, hanno bisogno di vivere e crescere in una famiglia per cui Essa batte sempre per la loro riunificazione familiare. Questo anche per scongiurare il pericolo che donne e bambini soccombano allo sfruttamento sessuale per la sopravvivenza.

La responsabilità di offrire ospitalità, solidarietà e assistenza ai rifugiati ricade sulla Chiesa locale. I rifugiati, poi, vanno formati al rispetto e all’apertura verso il Paese che li accoglie. Fa comunque parte della missione della Chiesa sensibilizzare anche coloro che possono concretamente fare qualcosa per mutare la situazione dei rifugiati.

 Si riconosce il diritto degli Stati di lottare contro l’immigrazione illegale e clandestina, ma occorre distinguere tra chi fugge dalle persecuzioni e dal pericolo di vita e chi, per motivi economici, cerca di entrare in un Paese in modo irregolare. Inoltre i programmi a favore dei rifugiati non possono essere limitati al permesso d’ingresso, bensì devono essere accompagnati da un impegno umanitario, per cui la solidarietà si traduce anche in termini legali.

Dal canto loro, si chiede ai rifugiati di essere disposti ed attivi nello sforzo comune a costruire una comunità integrata atta a diventare un giorno una casa comune per tutti.  

Conoscendo la gravità del fenomeno dei rifugiati, la Chiesa cattolica riconosce che la soluzione a tale problema sta nella sincera cooperazione internazionale. Pertanto apprezza il lavoro svolto dal “Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees” (COERR) in Thailandia, dalla Commissione internazionale cattolica per le migrazioni (ICMC), ecc. E’ convinta che la solidarietà internazionale deve essere basata su un ampio concetto del bene comune. A questo scopo è necessario diffondere e far penetrare nella coscienza universale la cultura della solidarietà e interdipendenza, affinché si sensibilizzino le autorità pubbliche, le organizzazioni internazionali e i singoli cittadini al dovere di accettare e condividere le risorse con i più poveri.

Inoltre, a questo riguardo, la Chiesa cattolica fa leva sulla collaborazione con le diverse Chiese e Comunità ecclesiali come anche con le altre religioni.

La cura pastorale dei rifugiati e i richiedenti asilo che si trovano nei centri di detenzioni negli aeroporti, insieme a quella di chi lavora negli aeroporti o sugli aerei e dei passeggeri è affidata dalla Costituzione Apostolica Pastor Bonus al Pontificio Consiglio della Pastorale per i Migranti e gli Itineranti, che l’attua attraverso l’opera dei cappellani cattolici degli aeroporti e dei membri di tali cappellanie. Di questi ci sono coloro che lavorano molto per le persone in parola, tuttavia ce ne sono invece altri che si sentono meno in grado di rispondere alle loro esigenze.

Il suddetto Pontificio Consiglio incoraggia un maggiore coinvolgimento in questo apostolato delle cappellanie cattoliche aeroportuali. E’ comunque consapevole che tale missione richiede la collaborazione delle altre forze della Chiesa locale, soprattutto degli organismi specificatamente destinati ad operare a favore dei migranti irregolari e dei richiedenti asilo, anche perché le cappellanie aeroportuali hanno altri doveri ed impegni da adempiere.

*******
 

Zusammenfassung 

Die Rolle und die Aktion der katholischen Kirche zum Wohle der Flüchtlinge und der Asylsuchenden im Hinblick auf die Präsenz der Kirche in den Flughäfen 

Nur einen Monat nach seiner Wahl zum Papst, im April 2005, hat Benedikt XVI. bekräftigt, dass die christliche Gemeinde den Flüchtlingen nahe ist und bemüht ist, ihr Interesse und ihre Liebe durch konkrete Gesten der Solidarität kundzutun. Im Jahre 2006 gab er der Hoffnung Ausdruck, dass ihre Rechte immer respektiert werden mögen. 2007 appellierte er an die Christen, die Flüchtlinge aufzunehmen, und so menschliche Solidarität und evangelische Liebe zu zeigen. Er lud die Führer der Nationen ein den Menschen, die sich in einer solch delikaten Situation befinden, Schutz zu gewähren.

Die katholische Kirche hat immer das Phänomen der Flüchtlinge vor Augen gehabt. Schon in der Enzyklika “Pacem in Terris“, veröffentlicht l963, bekräftigte Papst Johannes XXIII., dass die Flüchtlinge Personen sind, deren Rechte anerkannt werden müssen. Seither hört die Kirche nicht auf, für sie Solidarität zu fordern und eine Zusammenarbeit zu ihrem Wohl.

1981 hob Johannes Paul II. hervor, dass der Einsatz der Kirche für die Flüchtlinge integraler Teil ihrer Mission ist, die sowohl die materiellen, wie auch die spirituellen Bedürfnisse der Menschen mit in Betracht zieht. Sie brauchen eine Familie, um in ihr zu leben und zu wachsen, deshalb setzt die Kirche sich immer wieder für die Familienzusammenführung ein. Dies auch, um die Gefahr abzuwenden, dass Frauen und Kinder in das Netz der sexuellen Ausbeutung geraten, um zu überleben.

Die Ortskirche trägt die Verantwortung, den Flüchtlingen Gastfreundschaft, Solidarität und allgemeinen Beistand anzubieten. Die Flüchtlinge aber sollen vorbereitet werden, dem Gastland mit Respekt und offen gegenüber zu treten. Es ist auch Teil der Mission der Kirche, diejenigen zu sensibilisieren, die konkret etwas tun können, damit die Situation der Flüchtlinge sich ändert.

Das Recht der Staaten wird anerkannt, gegen die illegale und versteckte, heimliche Immigration vorzugehen, doch sollte unterschieden werden zwischen dem, der wegen Verfolgung und Lebensgefahr flüchtet und dem, der aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen nicht regulär in ein anderes Land geht. Außerdem sollten die Programme für die Flüchtlinge nicht auf die Einreiseerlaubnis begrenzt werden, sondern sie müssen von einem humanitären Einsatz begleitet werden, so drückt sich die Solidarität auch in  rechtlicher Weise aus.

Von den Flüchtlingen erwartet man, dass sie bereit sind aktiv an der gemeinsamen Aufgabe mitzumachen, nämliche eine integrierte Gemeinde zu schaffen, die eines Tages ein gemeinsames Haus für alle werden kann.

Um die Schwere dieses Phänomens der Flüchtlinge wissend, ist sich die katholische Kirche bewusst, dass die Lösung dieses Problems in der ehrlichen internationalen Zusammenarbeit steht. Sie anerkennt die Arbeit des “Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees“ (COERR) in Thailand und die der Internationalen, Katholischen Kommission für die Migrationen (ICMC), usw. Sie ist der Überzeugung, dass die internationale Solidarität auf einem weiten Konzept des allgemein Wohls gründen muss. Deshalb ist es notwendig die Kultur der Solidarität und der gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit zu verbreiten, die in das universelle Gewissen eindringen muss, damit die öffentliche Hand, die Internationalen Organisationen und der einzelne Bürger sensibilisiert werden für die Verpflichtung, die Ärmsten anzunehmen und mit ihnen die Ressourcen zu teilen.

Außerdem legt die katholische Kirche in dieser Hinsicht Gewicht auf die Zusammenarbeit der verschiedenen Kirchen und kirchlichen Kommunitäten, wie mit anderen Religionen.

Die Seelsorge der Flüchtlinge und der Asylsuchenden, die in den Auffangzentren in den Flughäfen festgehalten werden und die Seelsorge der am Flugplatz oder in den Flugzeugen und mit den Passagieren Arbeitenden, ist gemäß der Apostolischen Konstitution Pastor Bonus dem Päpstlichen Rat der Seelsorge für die Migranten und Menschen unterwegs anvertraut, und er führt sie aus durch den Einsatz der katholischen Flughafenseelsorger und der Mitglieder der Seelsorgestellen. Unter ihnen sind diejenigen, die viel für die in Frage kommenden Personen tun, andere hingegen fühlen sich nicht so fähig, auf ihre Bedürfnisse zu antworten.

Der genannte Päpstliche Rat ermutigt zu einer größeren Miteinbeziehung der katholischen Seelsorgestellen im Flughafen in dieses Apostolat. Er ist sich jedenfalls bewusst, dass diese Mission die Kollaboration der anderen Kräfte der Ortskirche braucht, besonders der Organismen, die in spezifischer Weise dazu bestimmt sind, sich für die nicht rechtmäßig Eingewanderten und die Asylsuchenden einzusetzen, auch weil die Seelsorgestellen im Flughafen andere Pflichten und Aufgaben auszuführen haben.