Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 102, December 2006

The Church’s response to the challenges of migration based on erga migrantes caritas christi*

Archbishop Agostino MARCHETTO

Secretary

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care

of Migrants and Itinerant People

1. Migration, a sign of the times

In the 1960s, when the Second Vatican Council took place, the Catholic Church perceived in international migration (or better, in human mobility, in general), a “sign of the times” to be interpreted in the light of the Word of God and the Magisterium of the Church.

Recently, an ILO expert defined migration as a “dramatic sign of our troubled times”, a vast phenomenon that institutions and governments wanted to stop until they finally realized that it is a structural component of present-day society’s socio-economic and political reality[1]. Then, they had to face the fact that it is useless to try to eliminate the phenomenon, but look at it in the face and concentrate their efforts in responding to the challenges and risks that it presents. 

2. Today’s migration: the situation

Through the years, the geography and direction of migration have changed a lot. To have a general view let us look at some statistics.

IOM’s world migration overview in 2005^[2] states that in 2000, 175 million people were living outside their country of birth. They constituted about 3% of the world’s population. Of these, 49% were women. Sixty-three percent of all “migrants” (110 million) were found in developed regions and only thirty-seven percent (65 million) were in less developed regions. Europe hosted 33 million, former USSR 30 million, Asia 44 million, and North America 41 million. On their part, Africa hosted 16 million migrants, Latin America and the Caribbean 6 million, and Oceania another 6 million.

We could say that approximately one out of every 11 persons living in the more developed regions is a migrant, while they are one out of every 77 in developing countries. Most international migrants are concentrated in a few countries, with the United States of America heading the list (hosting 20% of all migrants). 

3. Migration in Asia

Already in 2000, Asia accounted for 25 per cent of the world’s international migrants. In particular, international labour migration from and within Asia expanded rapidly from 1970 onwards. Following the sharp increase in the oil price in 1973, the oil-producing countries of the Middle East accelerated the intake of foreign workers, initially for the construction of needed infrastructure. While in the 1970s migrant workers had mostly been received from other Arab countries, by the late 1970s they were being recruited from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and soon also from several East and Southeast Asian countries, especially the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and, later, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

At present, Asia is the primary source of family and authorized economic migration of all forms in the world[3]. Almost one-third of all immigrants in Australia are from Asia, primarily from China, the Philippines and India. Similarly, 33 per cent of immigrants in Canada and 24 per cent of those in the United States are from Asia. Recently, Asian migration to Europe, especially from China, has also significantly increased. The nine largest Asian migrant sending countries are the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. They contribute between one-half and two-thirds of all legal immigrants and refugees to the international migration stream. 

4. Documents of the Holy See

What is the attitude of the Church in relation to this structural phenomenon? There has always been solicitude, on the part of the Church, for those who have left their homelands, or indeed who have none. The Apostolic Constitution Exsul Familia (1952) gives a brief review of what the Church has done in this area through the centuries. This historical review is recalled in our Instruction Erga migrantes caritas Christi[4], which also pays special attention to the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council[5], whose teachings and directives in this regard were implemented by Pope Paul VI’s Motu Proprio Pastoralis Migratorum Cura, promulgating thecorresponding Instruction De Pastorali Migratorum Cura, both in 1969.

Thirty-five years later, in 2004, in response to this sign of the times, – as we said – the Instruction Erga migrantes caritas Christi was issued by our Pontifical Council, a Dicastery of the Roman Curia specifically charged with pastoral issues related to human mobility. This document “urges us to look afresh at [the migrants’] problems”[6] and invites all Catholics “to respond to this challenge …[for] it is not just a matter of good will or the personal charisma of a few”[7].  

5. The Church’s responses 

The EMCC points out the responses that the Church offers to the challenges and risks presented by today’s migration phenomenon. It is at several levels.

First of all, the Church wishes to be there where the migrants are, to share with them the joys and the hopes, as well as the grief and the pains of migration[8]. Humanitarian aid and solidarity, social action and advocacy, training and Christian formation are all part of the Church’s ministry among those involved in human mobility. However, all these are but various expressions of its fundamental mission: the proclamation of the Good News that God is love and, out of love, He became man, and by His death and resurrection, He restored man’s lost unity with God. In doing so, He also gave back to every person the dignity of being a child of God and confirmed every human being’s worth, by the fact that humankind received such a great Redeemer[9]. Hence there are profound links between evangelization and human promotion.[10]

a. Welcome and solidarity

Concretely, migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons or poor foreign students may find themselves in situations where they literally need food, clothing and shelter. They may need medicine and medical care. The Church seeks to offer them welcome, through the proper channels, by establishing a culture of welcome in its communities, and being in solidarity with them[11]. 

However, welcoming people on the move is not exhausted by “performing acts of fraternal assistance or even by supporting legislation aimed at giving them their due place in society while respecting their identity as foreigners”[12]. An authentic culture of welcome accepts “the truly human values of the immigrants over and above any difficulties caused by living together with persons who are different”[13]. As Christians, we are called to a truly fraternal welcome for “one another … as Christ welcomed [us] …, for the glory of God” (Rm 15:7)[14]. This sense of welcome must grow deeper in the Christian community, especially through religious instruction and catechesis[15]. 

For the Church, an authentic culture of welcome does not make any distinction among migrants, whatever may be their nationality, color or creed. Our welcome for migrants “is fully based on love for Christ, in the certainty that good done out of love of God to one’s neighbour, especially the most needy, is done to Him”[16]. Of course, pastoral care is respectful of differences and, therefore, there is necessarily a difference in the kind of religious attention given to Catholics of the Latin and the Eastern rites, to members of other Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities, and to those who profess other religions[17].  

b. Advocacy

When their rights are trampled on, the Church defends them, sometimes making use also of “advocacy”[18]. When human dignity is not respected and human rights are violated, the result is a moral suffering that harms the human family. As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms, “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”[19]. Any inequality in this sense, therefore, must not be accepted.

In this context, Erga migrantes caritas Christi points out that migrants are “often victims of illegal recruitment and of short-term contracts providing poor working and living conditions”. Often they are subjected to “physical, verbal and even sexual abuse” and are obliged to “work long hours, often without the benefits of medical care and the usual forms of social security”. The local population may regard them “with suspicion and even consider them a danger and a threat”, often provoking “manifestations of intolerance, xenophobia and racism”.[20]

In some cases, migrants are forbidden from forming “labor unions”. They are also in perennial danger of becoming “victims of the sad phenomenon of human trafficking, which no longer spares even children”[21]. Then, there are the problems linked with the increasing “feminization of migration”. Women and girls are increasingly part of the phenomenon, and in many cultures, their dignity and rights are not safeguarded, if at all recognized. Women migrants’ rights, therefore, need to be safeguarded twice: as migrants and as women.

At this point, it is also necessary to mention the human rights of migrants in an irregular situation. In spite of this condition, they, too, conserve their human dignity and rights. This is why the ratification or accession to the International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants Workers and the Members of their Families is of utmost importance[22].

c. Preparing potential migrants

The Church is also called to accompany potential migrants in their decision-making process and to prepare them for migrant life abroad. Naturally, the formation of a migrant starts very much before he/she decides to migrate: from the cradle at home, to his lessons at school, in catechism classes, in the parish, in the ecclesial groups, associations and movements he might choose to follow, etc. Already at this stage of the potential migrant’s life, the Church wishes to be present, to serve.

Then when he/she starts toying with the idea of migrating, it is important to provide him/her with correct information regarding the possible destination countries: their laws, and not only labor legislation, their customs, religious traditions, the existing condition regarding freedom and democracy, etc. Since employment agencies or even relatives and friends are not always dependable or objective sources of information in this regard, it is important for the Church, through its networks, to be able to furnish reliable pre-departure data.    

When a person finally decides to migrate, then it is necessary to direct him/her to the Church and its related structures and organizations in the destination country, where it is possible to avail of pastoral care, including social and legal assistance, if necessary.

d. Dialogue

Then, there is a need for dialogue. The intermingling of cultures, religions and customs caused by migration could be an enrichment, but it has also caused tension in the past, which has persisted, and considerably, in some cases. Antidote to this tension is dialogue at all levels: ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, as well as with those who do not have a religious creed, and inter-cultural dialogue. This is a process that leads to the recognition of values that are in common and an attitude of respect for differences [23] without losing one’s own identity[24].

Certainly, the most common and most direct way of doing dialogue is through that of life, with simple everyday gestures of respect, solidarity, fraternity and love, among people who belong to different Churches and Ecclesial Communities, religions and cultures. This can produce an authentic change in interpersonal relationships, which is capital. 

In his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2005, Pope John Paul II affirmed the need “for a dialogue between people of different cultures in a context of pluralism that goes beyond mere tolerance and reaches sympathy” and to “encourage … a mutual fecundation of cultures. This implies reciprocal knowledge and openness between cultures, in a context of true understanding and benevolence.”[25]

However, he also said that “dialogue must not hide, but exalt, the gift of faith”[26]. A dialogue of welcome and mutual openness allows people to know each other better and discover that the various religious traditions often contain precious seeds of the Word of God (Semina Verbi)[27]. This could certainly be a way to enrich dialogue.

Thus, dialogue and evangelization are not opposed to each other. Erga migrantes caritas Christi, in fact, recommends a “great respect and attention for the migrants’ [religious] traditions and culture”, that we are called to show as Christians. At the same time we have “to bear witness to the gospel of love and peace in our dealings with them and also to proclaim the Word of God explicitly to them so that the blessing of the Lord, promised to Abraham and his descendants for ever, may reach them.”[28] “There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ,” Pope Benedict XVI attested, and continued, “There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.”[29]

e. Cooperation

Furthermore, the response of the Church obviously requires cooperation among local Churches[30], a fundamental pillar of the guidelines expressed in EMCC. Thus, while it is the task of the Church in the destination country to offer pastoral care to all the faithful in its territory, it is important for migrants to be accompanied by priests and/or other pastoral agents who are from, have a cultural background linking them with, or have carried out missionary activities in their country of origin. This cultural and linguistic proximity is of great importance in helping them live and grow in the faith and face, as Christians, all the vicissitudes they encounter in their life in the destination country. This is indeed why close collaboration between the Church of origin and the Church in the host country is necessary.[31]

Such collaboration will also help migrants and refugees become part and parcel, little by little, of the local Church, where no one is a foreigner, where everyone is welcome, because Jesus Christ died for each and every person without any distinction. Then the Church in the destination country will also become a model of a truly inter-cultural society, where everyone is really an integral part, where differences are not a reason for conflict but an enrichment for all. Then, universal brotherhood, where all people are members of one family, and the earth is truly a home for all, will no longer be a beautiful dream but will start becoming a reality. 

Conclusion

To conclude, let us hope that all those who are present here today may become more aware of and understand better the experience, and very often the drama, of those who live far from their homeland, and learn to serve them in their necessities, truly accepting them as brothers and sisters, so that today’s migrations may be considered a call, although a mysterious one, to the Kingdom of God, and an instrument of Providence to further the unity of the human family in peace.[32]

Riassunto 

Risposta della Chiesa alle sfide della Migrazione 

   Il Concilio Vaticano II, vede nel fenomeno dell'emigrazione un "segno dei tempi”. Recentemente, un esperto dell’ILO definisce la migrazione "un segno drammatico della nostra turbolenta società”. L'Organizzazione Internazionale per le Migrazioni riporta che nel 2000 circa 175 milioni di persone vivevano fuori delle loro nazioni, circa il 3% della popolazione mondiale (di questi 49% sono donne). I Paesi europei ne ospitano 33 milioni, l’ex URSS 30, il Nord l'America 41, l’Asia 44, l’Africa 16, l’America Latina e le isole dei Caraibi 6 milioni, come l’Oceania.

C'è sempre stato un impegno da parte della Chiesa nei confronti di quelli che hanno lasciato le loro case e famiglie. La Costituzione Apostolica Exsul Familia (1952) riassume quello che la Chiesa ha fatto in quest’area attraverso i secoli. Le indicazioni del Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano II furono recepite e sviluppate da Paolo VI con il Motu Proprio “Pastoralis Migratorum Cura”, e con l’Istruzione Pastorale “De Pastorali Migratorum Cura”, ambedue del 1969. Trentacinque anni più tardi, nel 2004, in risposta a questo segno dei tempi, fu pubblicato dal nostro Pontificio Consiglio, Dicastero della Curia Romana, l'Istruzione “Erga migrantes caritas Christi”. L'EMCC offre direttive pastorali in risposta al fenomeno delle migrazioni oggi. Le risposte si articolano a vari livelli. Prima di tutto, la Chiesa desidera essere là dove sono i migrati, condividendo con loro gioie e speranze, dolore e sofferenze e offrire aiuto umano e solidarietà sociale, e prendendo le loro difese qualora venissero lesi i loro diritti.

Concretamente, migranti, rifugiati, sfollati e profughi o studenti stranieri poveri, possono trovarsi in estremo bisogno di cibo, abbigliamento e ricovero, di medicine e cure mediche. La Chiesa cerca di dare accoglienza, attraverso i propri canali, istituendo strutture di assistenza e di solidarietà.

La Chiesa nell’accogliere i migranti non fa discriminazione di nazionalità, di razza o di credo religioso. L’accoglienza per essi è tutta fondata sull’amore a Cristo, certi che il bene fatto al prossimo, particolarmente al più bisognoso, per amore di Dio, è fatto a Lui stesso. [41]

Quando i diritti dei migranti sono calpestati, la Chiesa li difende, avvalendosi della sua autorità morale. In tale campo, Erga migrantes caritas Christi indica che spesso i migranti sono vittime di assunzioni illegali e di contratti a breve termine, i quali offrono povere condizioni di vita. Più delle volte, i migranti sono sottoposti ad abusi fisici, verbali ed anche sessuali ed obbligati a lavorare lunghe ore, spesso senza benefici medici e di forme di sicurezza sociale. A volte, la popolazione locale li guarda con sospetto e li considera un pericolo pubblico ed organizza manifestazioni di intolleranza, xenofobia e razzismo. 

In certi casi, i migranti sono impediti di aderire ai sindacati. Essi sono in perenne pericolo di diventare vittime del triste fenomeno del traffico di esseri umani, che non risparmia perfino i bambini. Ci sono poi, i problemi collegati all’aumento della migrazione femminile. Donne e ragazze in modo crescente sono parte del fenomeno, ed in molti luoghi la loro dignità e i loro diritti sono lesi. I diritti delle donne migranti hanno bisogno di essere salvaguardate due volte: come migrante e come donne.

La Chiesa è chiamata altresì ad aiutare i potenziali migranti a prepararsi ad affrontare la loro vita all’estero. Infatti, è importante dare loro informazioni corrette riguardo ai Paesi in cui dovranno vivere, circa le leggi, la legislazione sul lavoro, il costume, le tradizioni religiose, le condizioni di democrazia, ecc.

 C'è, poi, bisogno di dialogare. Il modo più comune e più diretto di farlo è attraverso la vita, coi semplici gesti di rispetto di ogni giorno, di solidarietà, di fraternità e di amore, fra persone che appartengono alla stessa comunità ecclesiale, o a Chiese, religioni e culture diverse.

Papa Giovanni Paolo II, nel suo messaggio per la Giornata mondiale del migrate e del rifugiato, 2005 afferma la necessità del dialogo tra i popoli di differenti culture in un contesto pluralistico che vada al di là della tolleranza e comprensione ed incoraggi una fecondazione delle culture. Questo implica conoscenza ed aperture tra le culture, in un contesto di una vera comprensione e benevolenza.

Dialogo ed evangelizzazione non si oppongono fra loro. Erga migrantes caritas Christi raccomanda una grande attenzione e rispetto per le tradizioni e culture religiose dei migranti così che si possa vivere meglio la vita cristiana. Papa Benedetto XVI afferma che non c’è cosa più bella che farsi conquistare dal Vangelo e dall’incontro con Cristo” e conoscerlo e parlare di lui agli altri della Sua amicizia.

Inoltre, l’EMCC considera le Chiese locali come pilastri fondamentali nell’attività pastorale in favore dei migranti. La Chiesa locale deve impegnarsi cioè ad offrire una Pastorale appropriata ai fedeli migranti. E’ molto importante per essi essere accompagnati da un prete o da agenti pastorali del loro Paese, che condividono la stessa cultura, oppure da un sacerdote che abbia svolto un’attività missionaria nel loro Paese d’origine. Questa vicinanza culturale e linguistica è di grande importanza per aiutarli a vivere ed a crescere nella fede ed a far fronte, come cristiani, alle tante vicissitudini che incontrano ogni giorno nel paese d’accoglienza.

In conclusione, Mons. Marchetto si augura che tutte quelle persone che vivono fuori del loro Paese nativo siano capite ed accettate come fratelli e sorelle, così che la migrazione d’oggi possa essere considerata una chiamata, sebbene misteriosa, per il Regno di Dio, ed uno strumento della Divina Provvidenza per favorire l’unità e la pace della famiglia umana.

*******

Résumé 

Réponse de l’Eglise aux défis de la migration 

Le Concile Vatican II voit dans le phénomène de l’émigration un « signe des temps ». Récemment, les experts de l’ILO ont défini l’émigration comme « un signe dramatique de notre turbulente société ». L’Organisation Internationale pour l’Emigration rapporte qu’en l’an 2000 quelque 175 millions de personnes vivaient en dehors de leur pays, soit 3% de la population mondiale dont 49% de femmes). Les pays européens en accueillent 33 millions, l’ex-URSS 30, l’Amérique du Nord 41, l’Asie 44, l’Afrique 16, l’Amérique latine et les îles des Caraïbes 6, de même que l’Océanie.

L’Eglise s’est toujours engagée auprès de ceux qui ont quitté leur maison et leur famille. La Constitution apostolique Exsul Familia (1952) résume ce que l’Eglise a fait en ce domaine au cours des siècles. Les indications du Concile œcuménique Vatican II furent reprises et développées par Paul VI dans le Motu Proprio « Pastoralis Migratorum Cura » et dans l’Instruction « De Pastorali Migratorum Cura », datant tous deux de 1969. Trente-cinq ans plus tard, en 2004, en réponse à ce signe des temps, notre Conseil Pontifical, Dicastère de la Curie romaine, a publié l’Instruction « Erga migrantes caritas Christi ». L’EMCC offre des directives pastorales en réponse au phénomène de l’émigration aujourd’hui. Ces réponses s’articulent sur différents niveaux. Avant tout, l’Eglise désire être là où se trouvent les émigrés, partageant leurs joies et leurs espoirs, leurs douleurs et leurs souffrances, et offrir l’aide humaine et la solidarité sociale, en prenant leur défense lorsque leurs droits sont bafoués.

Concrètement, émigrés, réfugiés, personnes déplacées, exilés ou étudiants étrangers pauvres peuvent se trouver dans des conditions d’extrême besoin de nourriture, de vêtements, de logement, de médicaments et de soins médicaux. L’Eglise cherche à leur souhaiter la bienvenue, à travers ses propres canaux, en instituant des structures d’assistance et de solidarité.

L’Eglise, en accueillant les immigrés, ne fait pas de discrimination de nationalité, de race ou de credo religieux. L’accueil des émigrants est pleinement basé sur l’amour du Christ, avec la certitude que le bien fait au prochain, en particulier au plus nécessiteux, c’est à Lui qu’on le fait.

Quand les droits des émigrés sont bafoués, l’Eglise les défend, se prévalant de son autorité morale. Dans ce domaine, Erga migrantes caritas Christi indique que les migrants, sont en effet bien souvent victimes d’embauche illégale et de contrats à court terme avec des conditions misérables de travail et de vie, d’abus physiques, verbaux et même sexuels. Ils doivent travailler pendant de longues heures souvent sans pouvoir bénéficier des soins de santé et des protections sociales normales. Parfois la population locale perçoit les immigrés comme un poids, les regarde avec méfiance et les considère même comme un danger ou une menace. Cette attitude entraîne souvent des manifestations d’intolérance, de xénophobie et de racisme.

Dans certains cas, les migrants se voient empêchés d’adhérer aux syndicats. Ils sont en danger permanent, victimes de ce qu’on appelle le trafic d’êtres humains, qui n’épargne aujourd’hui même pas les enfants. Il y a ensuite les problèmes liés à l’augmentation de l’émigration féminine. Des femmes et des jeunes filles subissent toujours plus ce phénomène et, en de nombreux endroits, leur dignité et leurs droits sont bafoués. Les droits des femmes migrantes ont doublement besoin d’être sauvegardés : comme émigrées et comme femmes. 

L’Eglise est également appelée à aider les émigrants potentiels à se préparer à affronter leur vie à l’étranger. En effet, il est important de leur fournir des informations correctes sur les pays où ils devront vivre, quant à leurs lois, à leur législation du travail, leurs coutumes, leurs traditions religieuses, leurs conditions de démocratie, etc.

Il y a ensuite un besoin de dialoguer. La façon la plus courante et la plus directe de le faire passe par la vie, par des gestes simples de respect quotidien, de solidarité, de fraternité et d’amour, entre personnes qui appartiennent à la même communauté ecclésiale ou à des Eglises, religions et cultures différentes.

Dans son Message pour la Journée mondiale des migrants et des réfugiés 2005, le Pape Jean-Paul II affirme la nécessité d’un dialogue entre les hommes de cultures différentes, dans un contexte de pluralisme allant au-delà de la simple tolérance pour promouvoir une fécondation réciproque des cultures. Cela suppose la connaissance et l’ouverture des cultures entre elles, dans un contexte de compréhension et de bienveillance authentiques.

Dialogue et évangélisation ne s’opposent pas entre eux. Erga migrantes caritas Christi rappelle le respect et l’attention que nous devons aux traditions et cultures des migrants, de sorte que l’on puisse mieux vivre la vie chrétienne. Le Pape Benoît XVI affirme, qu’il n’y a rien de plus beau que d’être rejoints, surpris par l’Évangile, par le Christ, avant de poursuivre, qu’il n’y a rien de plus beau que de le connaître et de communiquer aux autres l’amitié avec lui.

En outre, EMCC considère les Eglises locales comme des piliers de l’activité pastorale en faveur des migrants. L’Eglise locale doit s’engager, c’est-à-dire offrir une pastorale appropriée aux fidèles immigrés. Il est très important pour eux d’être accompagnés par un prêtre ou par des agents pastoraux de leur pays, qui partagent la même culture, ou bien par un prêtre qui ait exercé une activité missionnaire dans leur pays d’origine. Cette proximité culturelle et linguistique revêt une grande importance pour les aider à vivre et à grandir dans la foi et à faire face, comme chrétiens, aux nombreuses vicissitudes qu’ils rencontrent chaque jour dans le pays d’accueil.

En conclusion, Mgr Marchetto souhaite que toutes ces personnes qui vivent en dehors de leur pays natal soient comprises et acceptées comme des frères et sœurs, de sorte que l’émigration d’aujourd’hui puisse être considérée comme un appel, bien que mystérieux, pour le Royaume de Dieu, et comme un instrument de la Divine Providence pour favoriser l’unité et la paix de la famille humaine.