Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The 18th Plenary Session of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People was opened the morning of May 13, at the Dicastery’s headquarters in Piazza San Calisto in Vatican City. Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, in making reference to the Dicastery’s most recent publications, reflected on the theme of the Plenary, “The emigrant and itinerant family,” in the modern globalized world that is especially characterized by a growth in human mobility.
The Cardinal observed that the family itself is one of the factors that leads to human mobility. People migrate, for example, in search of more favorable living conditions, they flee their land to take refuge in another, they move to a foreign country to study, they take a family trip with the purpose of strengthening family bonds, or they work on the sea or in aviation services in order to support their families. There are also many circumstances that lead a family to live on the streets: the “nomadism” that comes from culture or tradition, the viability, the terrible exploitation in prostitution, the search for a residence for those living on the street or taking in many minors. We should make an effort so that the family, the vital cell of every society, may also live in mobility and, where this is not a possibility, that they may find a community or a place where they can experience a family atmosphere. Cardinal Martino presented favorable situations, as well as situations of family suffering, reflecting on family rights in relation to the Dicastery’s manual “Erga migrantes caritas Christi.”
The Pontifical Council, through the various Pastoral Guidelines for the various areas of human mobility, is committed to a service adapted to the different times and circumstances. In fact, in this pastoral ministry, different forms of expression must be adapted, in order to try to improve the creativity and zeal of the pastoral workers, without ever losing “the fundamental common orientation, which is that of realizing the plan of God, who has desired that the man and the woman become one flesh (cf Mt. 19:6) in the bond of marriage,” as John Paul II wrote in his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 1987 (n. 6).
Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, in his wide-reaching and detailed speech on “The thought, work, and changes of the Pontifical Council since the last Plenary Session,” presented information on the efforts made by the Dicastery over the last 2 years in its 9 pastoral sectors: Migrants, Refugees & Internally Displaced Persons, International Students; Tourism, Pilgrimages, Shrines; People of the Sea; Civil Aviation; Nomads; Circus, Carnival People; Apostleship of the Road. The incredible growth of human mobility in the entire world places a demand on the Pontifical Council for an increased quality commitment in these areas. Archbishop Marchetto made reference to the documents that inspired the name of the Plenary Session, namely the Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI on the occasion of the 93rd World Day of Migrants and Refugees (2007), dedicated to “The Migrant Family” and that of the World Day of Peace (January 1, 2008) on “The Human Family, A Community of Peace.”
Archbishop Marchetto stated that in light of the talks already given, one can already observe the general layout of the situation of the family in the world of migrants and itinerant people and that this should be an inspiration to Pastors, parishes, and Christian communities to begin working harder in this area. Thus, the emigrant and itinerant family will be able to enter into the commitment to evangelization and for the consolidation of Christian values, making it not only the beneficiary of pastoral and charitable care of the Church, but also protagonist in the evangelization of its own environments. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 13/05/2008 - righe 51, parole 657)
