Pope calls for balance over integration of immigrants
-10/12/04
A proper balance must be
Pope calls for balance over integration of immigrants
-10/12/04
A proper balance must be struck which respects identity, the Pope has said, when it comes to the integration of immigrants.
The comments came in a message from John Paul II for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Jan. 16.
The theme of the day will be “Intercultural Integration.”
In his message, presented by Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, the Pope called for the exclusion of “assimilationist models” that aim to homogenize cultural differences.
He also urged avoidance of forms of marginalization, which at their worst can manifest in “the choice of apartheid”.
In the UK catholic bishops have spoken out repeatedly on behalf of immigrants and asylum seekers, against what they have seen as a background of increasing destitution and “constant media vilification” of them.
Just last week the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales published a guide to the Church’s teaching on refugees and migrants. It followed the high profile case of a catholic priest who said he was prepared to go to prison to stop an asylum seeker being returned to Rwanda.
Catholic Bishops in the US last year also suggested that the United States should adopt a “more generous immigration and refugee policy,” including a “generous legalization program for undocumented immigrants,” and programmes for reuniting families and protecting immigrant workers from being exploited.
Addressing the challenges that population movements bring, the Pope said; “Many people use this word (immigration) to denote the need for immigrants to be truly incorporated in the host country, but neither the content of this concept nor its practice is easy to define.”
John Paul II said that integration was not “assimilation,” which “leads migrants to suppress or to forget their own cultural identity. Rather, contact with others leads to discovering their ‘secret,’ to being open to them in order to welcome their valid aspects and thus contribute to knowing each one better.”
“In this process the migrant is intent on taking the necessary steps towards social inclusion, such as learning the national language and complying with the laws and requirements at work, so as to avoid the occurrence of exasperated differentiation,” the Pope added.
Therefore, in “our society, characterized by the global phenomenon of migration, individuals must seek the proper balance between respect for their own identity and recognition of that of others,” the Holy Father continued.
“It is necessary to recognize the legitimate plurality of cultures present in a country, in harmony with the preservation of law and order, on which depend social peace and the freedom of citizens,” he stressed.
“The way to take is the path of genuine integration with an open outlook that refuses to consider solely the differences between immigrants and the local people”.
He pointed to the need for dialogue between people of different cultures “in a context of pluralism that goes beyond mere tolerance and reaches sympathy,” he added.
“A simple juxtaposition of groups of migrants and locals tends to encourage a reciprocal closure between cultures, or the establishment, among them, of relations that are merely superficial or tolerant,” he warned.
In this climate of dialogue, “Christians cannot give up proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to all creation,” he said.
“Obviously, they must do so with respect for the conscience of others, always resorting to the method of charity, as St Paul had already recommended to the early Christians.”
Pope calls for balance over integration of immigrants
-10/12/04
A proper balance must be struck which respects identity, the Pope has said, when it comes to the integration of immigrants.
The comments came in a message from John Paul II for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Jan. 16.
The theme of the day will be “Intercultural Integration.”
In his message, presented by Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, the Pope called for the exclusion of “assimilationist models” that aim to homogenize cultural differences.
He also urged avoidance of forms of marginalization, which at their worst can manifest in “the choice of apartheid”.
In the UK catholic bishops have spoken out repeatedly on behalf of immigrants and asylum seekers, against what they have seen as a background of increasing destitution and “constant media vilification” of them.
Just last week the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales published a guide to the Church’s teaching on refugees and migrants. It followed the high profile case of a catholic priest who said he was prepared to go to prison to stop an asylum seeker being returned to Rwanda.
Catholic Bishops in the US last year also suggested that the United States should adopt a “more generous immigration and refugee policy,” including a “generous legalization program for undocumented immigrants,” and programmes for reuniting families and protecting immigrant workers from being exploited.
Addressing the challenges that population movements bring, the Pope said; “Many people use this word (immigration) to denote the need for immigrants to be truly incorporated in the host country, but neither the content of this concept nor its practice is easy to define.”
John Paul II said that integration was not “assimilation,” which “leads migrants to suppress or to forget their own cultural identity. Rather, contact with others leads to discovering their ‘secret,’ to being open to them in order to welcome their valid aspects and thus contribute to knowing each one better.”
“In this process the migrant is intent on taking the necessary steps towards social inclusion, such as learning the national language and complying with the laws and requirements at work, so as to avoid the occurrence of exasperated differentiation,” the Pope added.
Therefore, in “our society, characterized by the global phenomenon of migration, individuals must seek the proper balance between respect for their own identity and recognition of that of others,” the Holy Father continued.
“It is necessary to recognize the legitimate plurality of cultures present in a country, in harmony with the preservation of law and order, on which depend social peace and the freedom of citizens,” he stressed.
“The way to take is the path of genuine integration with an open outlook that refuses to consider solely the differences between immigrants and the local people”.
He pointed to the need for dialogue between people of different cultures “in a context of pluralism that goes beyond mere tolerance and reaches sympathy,” he added.
“A simple juxtaposition of groups of migrants and locals tends to encourage a reciprocal closure between cultures, or the establishment, among them, of relations that are merely superficial or tolerant,” he warned.
In this climate of dialogue, “Christians cannot give up proclaiming the Gospel of Christ to all creation,” he said.
“Obviously, they must do so with respect for the conscience of others, always resorting to the method of charity, as St Paul had already recommended to the early Christians.”