The European dream

The meeting of national directors for migration of the 25 Bishops’ Conferences of Europe has just ended in Siguenza, in Spain, with an appeal for development policies and the better reception of young immigrants in Europe. Promoted by the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (Ccee), the meeting (21-24 September) was devoted to the theme “Youth and Migration: a chance for the Church and for society in Europe. The phenomenon of migration – said the delegates – is the “consequence of an unjust situation of poverty and underdevelopment from which the young in particular suffer, forcing them to embark on the adventure of conquering the European ‘dream’ with the desire to flee from their poverty and that of their families”. The participants appealed to the leaders of the European countries, the UNO, the Council of Europe and the EU to “establish more effective policies of aid to development for the poor countries, and greater control of the trafficking of human beings”. ECUMENICAL LABORATORY. “The pastoral mission to migrants in Europe – said Msgr. Aldo Giordano, general secretary of the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (Ccee) – must represent a laboratory for ecumenism” and “foster cooperation between the religions in the various continents”. Today migrations – he said – are changing “the face of our countries, especially with the presence of young people who migrate for reasons of work”. This phenomenon – according to the chairman of the Ccee Commission of Migrations, Msgr. LOUIS PÊLATRE – must “pose questions to us, without disguising the difficulties it brings”. The migration of young people represents – according to Msgr. JOSÉ SANCHEZ GONZALES , president of the Commission for Migration of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference – an incontrovertible reality and that’s why we need to dialogue with young migrants to “build a just and harmonious society”. THE CHALLENGE. “The challenge – explained Lorenzo Prencipe, director of the Centre of Studies on Emigration (Cser) – is to make sure that young immigrants from outside Europe become an integral part of the societies in which they live”. So long as these young people, coming from countries outside Europe, fail to obtain a right to citizenship in Europe we will fail to respond to the challenge of their complete integration into our societies. The process of integration must begin in schools, continue in working life and culminate in the right of citizenship. Only once this right is completely acquired – he concluded – can a young immigrant in European countries finally say he forms an integral part of the country in which he lives”. The young, in fact, “are not extraneous to our societies: according to JOSÈ DA SILVA , director of the pastoral service to migrants within the French Bishops’ Conference – they represent the barometer both of our societies and of our Churches”. The young “are not the future of our societies and our Churches, but their present. They urge us to gain an awareness of the emergence of a new people we cannot in any way ignore. At the same time we must not wait for them to become adults and elderly people before considering them an integral part of our societies”. In response to the major phenomenon of migration in Europe – said RUI MANUEL DA SILVA PEDRO , secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Migration of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference – “we ought not to consider national flags but those who bear them”. Some 500,000 immigrants are present in Portugal: at the same time this country remains a country of emigration with an continuing outflow of citizens, especially young people in search of better prospects of work and a future in other European cities. Attention on the part of the local Church is being paid to these men and women in Portugal: “the revision of the catechisms is in progress – added Da Silva Pedro – to give them pedagogical and pastoral contents linked both to the situations of immigrants but also to those of the Portuguese who go abroad; this is a significant commitment, aimed at creating formative itineraries geared to the reality of migration in Portugal”. SIGN OF THE TIMES. Migration is “a sign of the time” and hence “an excellent theological opportunity – added Father JOSÈ MAGANA , head of the pastoral service of Spanish-speaking emigrants in Belgium – to formulate the thought and guide the action of the Church in these circumstances”. According to the Spanish priest, a situation that is “peculiar and specific” to young emigrants, and that “influences” their faith, is “the generational break” as regards the religious aspect. “In the transmission of the faith – he explains – the context in which a person grows up counts a lot”. But the traditions of the emigrant’s own parents “will not be found in the context in which he lives and therefore it’s difficult for him to embrace them”. The need was repeatedly underlined at the meeting for a more open pastoral service, conducted in a spirit of dialogue and collaboration with the young who live in emigration: “the grave shortcomings of policies of reception” need to be overcome “if we are to avoid the painful events of which young immigrants have recently been the protagonists”.