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On Migrants and Family
“The starting point for addressing the problem of migration
is recognizing the unity of the human family. Migration constitutes
one of the most complex challenges of our globalized world. The
human and ecclesial starting points the affirmation of equality
among persons -- completely beyond questions of ethnicity, language
and origin -- and the unity of the human family."
Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council
for Migrants and Travelers, shared these words during his talk entitled
"Human Rights and the Dignity of Migrants in the Age of Globalization"
during the symposium sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
in cooperation with the Community Sant'Egidio with the theme "Human
Dignity and Human Rights in the Time of Globalization".
During his talk, the archbishop explained the reason behind the
Church "extremely attentive" to the welcoming and pastoral
care of migrants not forgetting that the phenomenon of migration
also carries with it "a complex mix of duties and rights, the
first of which is the right to migratory relocation.
He further explained that the right of governments to handle migration
must, for its part provide clear and viable measures for regular
entrance into the country, oversee the labor market to prevent the
exploitation of migrant workers, enact measures for regular integration,
combat xenophobic behavior, and promote the social, cultural and
religious coexistence that every pluralistic society demands. The
government must also correspond to its duty/right to guarantee lawfulness,
punish criminal behavior and delinquency and deal with people in
irregular situations," but always doing so "with respect
for human dignity, human rights and international agreements.
Archbishop Marchetto further explained that the safeguarding of
human dignity highlights the necessity of a specific pastoral care
for first and second generation migrants that should consider respect
for the use of the mother tongue in catechesis, preaching and the
administration of the sacraments, attention to the particular demands
of popular piety, and the assignment of expressly designated missionaries.
The pastoral structures must guarantee a progressive process of
active integration into the local Church, that overcomes, on the
one hand, the temptations of 'religious colonization' and total
assimilation, and avoids, on the other hand, the formation of a
ghetto.
Along with pastoral care, adequate social, civil and political interventions
must not be lacking, said Archbishop Marchetto. He added that migration
almost obliges us to put the human person at the center for the
sake of a profitable development of the whole family of peoples
and nations, urging priorities and precise criteria for intervention.
“There is a need to improve society's level of 'humanism,'
renewing the culture and education in its many ramifications. From
this perspective the knowledge of various ethnic groups and their
cultures is seen as an obligatory step that should be inserted into
educational programs and catechesis. The structures for the pastoral
care of migrants need to value occasions of meeting and dialogue,
that can help to improve interpersonal relations and also favor
a more complete and convinced witness to the evangelical message.
Toward this end it is necessary to emphasize "formation, especially
of young people, but also of leaders of groups and communities,"
the archbishop pointed out.
Archbishop Marchetto also added that dialogue between persons, communities,
peoples, cultures, religions and ethnic groups is urgent today and
is the secret of the future because closure and intolerance come
from making ourselves and our own group into idols.
In conclusion, Archbishop Marchetto stated that to have a positive
and lasting effect, globalization must be founded on a vision of
the human person that responds to Christian criteria that are profoundly
human, totally beyond materialist and atheist ideologies, which
are wedded to relativism, and in the end relativize the fundamental
dignity of every human person.
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“Jesus’
Baptism”
