VATICAN CITY; FEB 13, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul's Message for the 87th World Day of Migration was published this morning in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Following are excerpts from that document, signed in the Vatican on February 2:
"With this present Message, on the occasion of the World Day of Migration, I wish to reflect on the evangelizing mission of the Church with respect to the vast and complex phenomenon of emigration and mobility. This year, the following theme was chosen for the commemoration: 'The pastoral care of migrants, a way to accomplish the mission of the Church today'. This is an area that many pastoral agents have at heart for they know quite well the numerous problems that are found there. ... Mobility that is chosen freely is one thing; mobility caused by ideological, political or economic constraint is an entirely different thing."
"The term 'migrant' is intended first of all to refer to refugees and exiles in search of freedom and security outside the confines of their own country. However, it also refers to young people who study abroad and all those who leave their own country to look for better conditions of life elsewhere."
"In this complex phenomenon, numerous elements come into play: the tendency to foster the political and juridical unity of the human family, the noteworthy increase in cultural exchanges, interdependence among States, particularly in the economic sphere, the liberalization of trade and, above all, of capital, the multiplication of multinational enterprises, the imbalance between rich and poor countries, the development of the means of communication and transportation."
"Although in varying forms and degrees, mobility has thus become a general characteristic of mankind. ... The convergence of races, civilizations and cultures within one and the same juridical and social order, poses an urgent problem of cohabitation. ... Human mobility means numerous possibilities to be open, to meet, to assemble; however it is not possible to ignore the fact that it also brings about manifestations of individual and collective rejection, a fruit of closed mentalities that are encountered in societies beset by imbalance and fear."
"In her pastoral activity, the Church tries to take these serious problems constantly into consideration. ... She does not grow tired of affirming and defending the dignity of the human person, highlighting the inalienable rights that originate from it. Specifically, these are the right to have one's own country, to live freely in one's own country, to live together with one's family, to have access to the goods necessary for a dignified life, to preserve and develop one's ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage, to publicly profess one's religion, to be recognized and treated in all circumstances according to one's dignity as a human being."
"Through her own pastoral activity, the Church tries her best not to let migrants lack the light and the support of the Gospel. In the course of time, her attention towards Catholics who were leaving their country increased. ... Later on, however, it became clear that the phenomenon could not be stopped. Thus the Church sought to introduce adequate forms of pastoral action, foreseeing that migration could become an effective way of spreading the faith in other countries. ... Subsequently, Vatican Council II tackled the migration phenomenon in its various expressions: immigrants, emigrants, refugees, exiles, foreign students, put together, from the pastoral point of view, into the category of those who dwell outside their own country and therefore cannot take advantage of ordinary pastoral care. ... The pastoral care of migrants has thus become an institutionalized activity, addressed to the faithful, considered not so much as individuals, but as members of a particular community for which the Church organizes a specific pastoral service."
"History shows that in those cases wherein the Catholic faithful were accompanied during their move to other countries, they not only preserved their faith, but also found a fertile soil to deepen it, personalize it and bear witness to it through their lives. In the course of the centuries, migration represented a constant means of proclaiming the Christian message in entire regions. Today the picture of migration is radically changing: on one hand, the flow of Catholic migrants is decreasing; on the other hand, there is an increasing flow of non-Christian migrants, who settle in countries where the population is Catholic by majority.
"In the Encyclical 'Redemptoris Missio,' I called to mind the task of the Church with respect to non-Christian migrants. ... 'In the light of the economy of salvation,' I wrote in the aforementioned Encyclical, 'the Church sees no conflict between proclaiming Christ and engaging in inter-religious dialogue. Instead she feels the need to link the two in the context of her mission 'ad gentes'. These two elements must maintain both their intimate connection and their distinctiveness; therefore they should not be confused, manipulated or regarded as identical as though they were interchangeable' (no.55).
"The presence of non-Christian immigrants in countries of ancient Christianity represents a challenge to the Church communities. The phenomenon continues to activate charity in the Church, in terms of welcome and aid for these brothers and sisters in their search for work and housing. ... Sometimes, due to an environment dominated by growing religious relativism and indifference, it is difficult for the spiritual dimension of charitable undertakings to emerge. Some people fear that performing (works of) charity in view of evangelization could expose them to the accusation of proselytism. Proclaiming and bearing witness to the Gospel of charity constitutes the connective tissue of the mission towards migrants. ... At this point, I would like to pay homage to the many apostles who have consecrated their existence to this missionary task. I would also like to recall the efforts that the Church has exerted to meet the expectations of migrants."
"Today, the proclamation of the Gospel of charity to the vast and diversified world of migrants implies a particular attention to the cultural environment. ... A serene reading of this new situation highlights many values that merit being greatly appreciated. ... This reading will surely help the non-Christian migrant see his own religiosity as a strong element of cultural identity, and at the same time it will make it possible for him to discover the values of the Christian faith. To this end, the collaboration of the local Churches and missionaries who know the immigrants' culture will be useful more than ever."
"This enriching intercultural and interreligious dialogue presupposes a climate that is permeated with mutual trust and respects religious freedom. Among the sectors to be illuminated by the light of Christ therefore is freedom, particularly religious freedom, which is still at times limited or restricted. It is the premise and guarantee of every other authentic form of freedom. ... Freedom is a constitutive dimension of the Christian faith itself, since it is not a transmission of human traditions, or a point of arrival of philosophical discussion, but a free gift of God, which is communicated with due respect for the human conscience."
"The Gospel is for everyone. No one is excluded from the possibility of participating in the joy of the divine Kingdom. The mission of the Church today is exactly that of giving every human being, regardless of culture or race, the concrete possibility of meeting Christ."
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