The Catholic’s Obligations Toward Migrants

Journal title MONDI MIGRANTI
Author/s Dario Dzananovic
Publishing Year 2020 Issue 2020/1
Language Italian Pages 17 P. 31-47 File size 204 KB
DOI 10.3280/MM2020-001003
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Migration is a theme that pervades not only the Old Testament and New Testament, but also various texts published by the Catholic Church over the years. In an era of mass migration and response by faith communities, it is appropriate to explore how the migrant is treated in these texts. This paper provides an overview of Catholic social teaching regarding the migrant and migration. It aims to provide an understanding of what several major texts have to say about these topics, and specifically, the obligations that may be derived from them. The paper traces the migrant through the Old Testament and New Testament. Subsequently, it focuses on major ecclesiastical documents, including the Exsul Familia Nazarethana in 1952, De Pastorali Migratorum Cura in 1969, and Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi in 2004. Subsequently, it looks at Pope Francis’ recent actions and calls to action vis-à-vis migration. It concludes that, taken together, these sources suggest that all people of the world, including irregular migrants, should have equal treatment and access to basic rights.

La migrazione è un tema che pervade non solo l’Antico Testamento e il Nuovo Testamento, ma anche vari testi pubblicati dalla chiesa cattolica nel corso degli anni. In un’era di migrazione di massa e di risposta da parte delle comunità di fe-de, è opportuno esplorare come il migrante viene trattato in questi testi. Questo ar-ticolo fornisce una panoramica dell'insegnamento sociale cattolico riguardante i migranti e le migrazioni. L’obiettivo è quello di fornire una comprensione di ciò che molti (importanti) testi contengono su questi argomenti, e in particolare, gli obblighi che possono derivare da essi. L’articolo si occupa del tema del migrante attraverso l’Antico Testamento e il Nuovo Testamento. Successivamente, si concentra su im-portanti documenti ecclesiastici, tra cui Exsul Familia Nazarethana nel 1952, De Pastorali Migratorum Cura nel 1969 e Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi nel 2004. Successivamente, esamina le recenti azioni di papa Francesco e invita all’azione nei confronti della migrazione. La conclusione è che, nel loro insieme, queste fonti suggeriscono che tutte le persone nel mondo, compresi i migranti irregolari, do-vrebbero avere pari trattamento e accesso ai diritti fondamentali.

Keywords: Migrant; migration; bible; Catholic; scripture.

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  2. Congregation for Bishops (1969). Instruction De Pastoralis Migratorum Cura, No. 7, Rome, August 22 1969 quoting
  3. Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity Ad Gentes Divinitus, No. 26.
  4. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word, Gaudium et Spes, No. 26.
  5. Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (2004). Instruction Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi, Rome, May 3 2004.
  6. Pope Benedict xvi, Caritas in Veritate, No. 62.
  7. Pope Francis (2016b). Pope Francis’ Speech to Joint Session of Congress. Time. 24 Sept. 2016. Web. 27 June 2016.
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  12. Pope Pius xii, Apostolic Constitution Exsul Familia Familia Nazarethana 1950, No. 1.
  13. Yardley J. (2016). “Pope Francis Takes 12 Refugees back to Vatican After Trip to Greece.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 June.

  • The multifaceted relationship between individual religiosity and attitudes toward immigration in contemporary Italy Riccardo Ladini, Ferruccio Biolcati, Francesco Molteni, Andrea Pedrazzani, Cristiano Vezzoni, in International Journal of Sociology /2021 pp.390
    DOI: 10.1080/00207659.2021.1937778

Dario Dzananovic, The Catholic’s Obligations Toward Migrants in "MONDI MIGRANTI" 1/2020, pp 31-47, DOI: 10.3280/MM2020-001003