Our duty to welcome the stranger among us

Jul 24, 2014

By Effie Caldarola
The first time Pope Francis travelled outside of Rome during his papacy, he visited the island of Lampedusa. This pilgrimage to a place where immigrants seek refuge was weighted with symbolism. How many, outside of Europe, had ever heard of Lampedusa? But now the name of the island weighs on our Christian consciousness. Here, the pontiff urged us not to be part of the “globalization of indifference” to the plight of the millions worldwide who are immigrants and refugees.

Lampedusa is a tiny island, off the coast of Sicily and the nearest Italian island to Africa. The seas around it are treacherous. Locals advise travellers to stay close to the coast to avoid the choppy, violent waters beyond.

Yet, over the years, tens of thousands have attempted the deceptively short journey, about 70 miles, from the shores of Africa to the coast of Lampedusa. Thousands have perished trying to reach Italy over these waters, many of them in small, overcrowded homemade boats. This year alone, over 400 died fleeing for the perceived safety of the island.

Similar tragedies play out in the water near Greece, and along the borders of many countries. Today, millions of Syrians have been dislocated. The US-Mexico border and the deserts beyond have witnessed scenes of great suffering and personal courage.

Pope Francis laid a wreath in honour of the dead at Lampedusa and celebrated Mass using a wooden chalice carved by a local carpenter from the wood of an immigrant boat. By simply being there, Francis has compelled us to look anew at the question of immigration.

For many, it’s a difficult and multifaceted question. Politicians use words like “border security” to wrap the issue into a package that ignores human dignity and human cost. As citizens, we find the issue so complex that we’re tempted to let someone else worry about it.

But welcoming the stranger is a key Gospel imperative. Matthew tells us of Jesus’ own flight into Egypt. Warned in a dream to flee from Herod, Joseph takes the Holy Family as immigrants to a foreign land, making sacred the similar journeys so many of our brothers and sisters experience. Matthew’s Gospel story echoes the journey of the Israelites into captivity, as well as their harrowing exodus out of Egypt.

The Bible reflects the constant movement of the human family, often under horrible circumstances. Millions of Americans can trace their origins to the famine boats from Ireland in the 19th century, or to the brutal slave ships that sailed from Africa, or to a flight from the Iron Curtain, or from the economic collapse of postwar Europe, or from Vietnam at the fall of Saigon.

We are an immigrant people, all of us, and we are sisters and brothers to the child who fled Bethlehem for the safety of Egypt. As Catholics, we cannot simply let someone else worry about it. We cannot be part of the “globalization of indifference.”

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops stands in the forefront of the fight for immigration reform. For those who want to know more about the issue, a good place to start is by visiting the USCCB’s website where they explain the Church’s position.

The bishops refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2241, which emphasizes that government has two duties. The first is to welcome the foreigner, always out of respect for the dignity of the human person. This is especially crucial for affluent nations. The second duty is to secure one’s border and enforce laws for the common good. Immigrants have responsibilities as well as rights. Always, we focus first on the person.

In their 2003 letter, “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope,” the bishops of the US and Mexico outlined the basics of their proposal for reform, which includes a pathway to citizenship for the millions who have been left in limbo, separated from their families for years and unable to move forward to citizenship. The harm our current immigration system has done to families is a basic concern of the church.

The bishops also advocate a temporary worker programme, which would give workers an avenue to enter the country safely and legally. Foreign workers would be given legal rights to protection in the workplace. The root causes of illegal entry into the US should be addressed, the bishops say. Ideally, people who come to the US would do so by choice, not because of desperate need.

In the Gospels, we are advised to take note of the movement of Jesus as he crosses borders or breaks down boundaries. Against his own disciples’ protests, he speaks to the Samaritan woman. He cures the servant of the Roman centurion. He dines with sinners and the despised tax collector.

Jesus’ focus is on the dignity of people, and his embrace is for the poor, the leper, the foreigner, those looked down on by society. Jesus was “a stranger and you welcomed me.” Those are the words Jesus used to define those of us who choose to follow him.