An immigration that revitalizes” “

“Immigration is a resource that revives Catholic communities”. that’s the view of Cardinal Ricardo Maria Carles Gordó , archbishop of Barcelona, ten years since the pastoral plan that identified immigration as a priority for the local Church. The Catalan archdiocese has reacquired new vitality with the arrival of immigrants, especially from Ecuador and from the Philippines. The first personal Philippino parish in Europe was in fact created in Barcelona. What would you say to those Christians who see immigration as an obstacle or a problem ? “Immigration is a challenge for society and for Christian communities. In our dioceses a great effort is being made to welcome and help immigrants. Caritas is conducting a huge programme of social and pastoral work with immigrants, at both the material and spiritual levels. The same is being done by priests and laity in many parishes and sanctuaries. It’s one of the commitments of pastoral action we reaffirmed in 1996, namely a ‘more radical and concrete attention to the poor and the disadvantaged’. We’re now harvesting the fruits of that commitment”. How far does immigration improve the pastoral activity of the diocese of Barcelona? “Without doubt it represents a challenge, but if we are able to give an appropriate response there’s no doubt that immigration may represent an opportunity in various fields. As regards religious life, I have no doubts that immigration has contributed positively to the evangelization of our diocese. There’s a new spiritual vitality among young Catholics, and the confraternities, many of whose members are immigrants, are once again returning to the original religious spirit that many of them had lost. That’s why at the present time our diocese has identified attention to immigrants as one of its top priorities. Part of those who arrive are already Catholics. We are faced by the challenge of fostering their spiritual life. But in compensation we ourselves are enriched by their presence: We receive their help. For example, there are immigrants from Ecuador who have become catechists in the parishes; they’ve become well integrated and have been accepted. Many immigrants from Latin America are well-formed persons with an intense Christian life behind them. Thousands of Philippinos, moreover, participate regularly in celebrations in numerous churches. In liaison with the Philippino priests who accompany them, we’ve created a personal parish for them. As regards immigrants from eastern Europe, many are Catholics and others Orthodox, but in their houses you always see icons and their Marian devotion is strong”. In Barcelona there’s also substantial Moslem immigration. “Our attention to immigrants of Moslem religion is realized through Caritas, especially as regards the material aspects: to them too we hold out a human and Christian welcome”. Catalonia has always been a hospitable region. Do you believe that its identity is the result of the interaction with other cultures? “Undoubtedly. Catalonia has always been a place of transit, a place where strangers were welcomed. It’s not by chance that one of Catalonia’s original names was ‘marca hispanica’, the ‘Spanish marches’, meaning Spain’s frontier territory. So traditionally it’s been a country of transit, with emigration abroad and the welcome of new immigrants in Spain. Now, the arrival of immigrants from other countries and continents confronts us with a new and more difficult challenge, given that their cultures and religions are quite different from our own. However, the difficulties of the Gospel have always been fruitful, even if not always easy to overcome. So we are hopeful that, if we are able to assume attitudes of solidarity and love, as Jesus teaches and as the Church proposes, the challenge posed by the new forms of immigration will help to endow our society with new riches”.