Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On the occasion of World Migrants Day on Sunday December 18, we recall two recent documents on the theme.
First of all a Joint Letter on the Pastoral Care of Human Mobility addressed to Diocesan Bishops by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. Underlining the relevance of the Instruction “Erga migrantes caritas Christi” (The Charity of Christ towards migrants) issued by the Pontifical Council for Migrants, the Letter recognises and confirms “commitment on the part of Particular Churches affected by situations often tragic to help solve the many problems connected with human mobility”, offering “pastoral and missionary suggestions and guidelines based on the experience of the universal Church at the service of people involved by the phenomenon”.
Today migration involves about 175 million men, women and children and the Church, both universal and local “is called to see and interpret this sign of our times in the light of the Gospel”. “Of special interests for ecclesiastical jurisdictions dependent on the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples evidently, the missionary dimension, communion between Churches of origin and those of arrival, the common duty to protect of human person and the institution of the family affected by emigration”. Important aspects highlighted include: the migratory experience “is also an opportunity for new evangelisation and mission”; the pastoral care for migrants is born of an ecclesiology of communion expressed also in dialogue between the Churches of departure and arrival; with regard to the human rights of migrants, the Social Doctrine of the Church affirms the centrality of the human person. “In view of this the human person can never be reduced to a tool, goods to be exchanged or any other factor of production. Hence our concern to protect the rights of men and women migrants and those of their children”; the socio-charity dimension of the apostolate in the ambit of human mobility needs to be completed with the ecclesial and missionary, ecumenical and inter-religious dimension.
“There where consistent migratory flows are registered, it will therefore be important to help Catholic migrants become agents of this pastoral mission and not only receivers… this will certainly enrich catholicity where prejudice, suspicion, discrimination, tribal rivalry, xenophobia, or racism, give way to welcoming and solidarity”.
The second document, also in the form of a Joint Letter issued by the Council for Migrants and Itinerant Peoples and the Congregation for Oriental Churches and addressed to the Bishops of Eastern Catholic Churches, calls attention to the present day phenomenon of migration, “reaffirming the Church’s ongoing pastoral concern for those brothers and sisters who are migrants”. At the beginning of the new millennium the phenomenon concerns more or less 3% of the world’s population. “In the village, which the world is becoming ever more, made smaller by technological progress in communications, means of transport and affected by globalisation, economic, political and demographic unbalance between rich and poor countries, caused also by war and violence, pushes people to emigrate”.
The Church is aware that is it necessary to help solve tragic situations of emigration, and the Instruction deals with the needs of Catholics of eastern rite, today ever more numerous. “It is not only a practical question of opportunity, required by the mobility of Catholics migrants of Eastern Churches, constantly growing in number. The aim is to highlight the equal dignity of the faithful in the Church will allows the one Catholic Church, also in the migratory context, to breathe we could almost say « with both lungs ». Moreover the growing number of Christian immigrants not in full communion with the Catholic Church, in western contexts, encourages and promotes ecumenical dialogue and attention for different cultural and religious traditions”. Pastoral concern for the faithful whether of eastern or Latin rite, “is an authentic « sign of the times » since it aims to build authentic catholicity, avoiding the danger of division which can degenerate into attitudes xenophobic of even racist. In view of this the paths to be preferred are those of welcoming in an authentic itinerary of communion”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 17/12/2005, righe 53, parole 720)
