Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Barcelona (Agenzia Fides) – From March 7 to 10, Barcelona hosted the 21st Annual Meeting of the Pastoral Care of Migrants in the Big Cities of Europe," which brought together leaders and pastoral workers from Vienna, Brussels, Lyon, Frankfurt, Cologne, Milan, Turin, Rome, Luxembourg, Basel, Barcelona, as well as representatives of the National Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants from France, Spain, and Switzerland. The topic addressed was "How do we offer pastoral care to the children of immigrants?" This is an issue of fundamental importance for the future of the Church in Europe, as the new generations of immigrants form an increasingly larger portion of European youth.
The conference in Barcelona considered the contexts of the different cities, highlighting the variety of situations in which these young people live according to the particular history of immigration of any single country. Their inclusion in the areas of education and professions is critical to their integration into society and the opportunity for children to develop in their cultural and linguistic diversity. Even in areas of the oldest immigration patterns, achievements in this field are not yet satisfactory. The commitment of the Church also has a social, educational, and political character, in order to ensure equal opportunities for all young people and to combat the spread of xenophobia.
The specific pastoral care for the children of Catholic immigrants will help them become adult Christians and to witness their faith in a society increasingly characterized by extremes of advanced secularization and religious variety, more so now than ever before. For those born in the country of immigration, this raises the question of active participation within the local church, a participation that does not involve the denial of religious roots of the family and, therefore, of the culture of origin. Before being "immigrants" they are "youth", i.e. fully participating in lifestyles and languages of the youth today worldwide. Among the proposals that emerged was that of a greater convergence among family ministry, youth, and migration. There were several examples made of youth ministry in which young people of foreign origin and indigenous Catholics gather to share the faith journey of discovery of an open and universal Christian identity. Finally, the same local church is urged to bear witness to Catholicism always in the state of conversion, through acceptance and communion amidst the diversity. (LD/SL) (Agenzia Fides 17/3/2010)
