1. International migration as a socially constructed concept

For some years now, migration has been one of the most debated topics both by social sciences and the social doctrine of the Church; therefore, the content of this article reflects only in part the richness of the reflection on an extremely complex phenomenon that involves all the dimensions of life, all the social fields and levels in which coexistence is included, from the local to the global one.

Even though internal migrations at the borders of states are a relevant phenomenon both from a quantitative and a humanitarian point of view – especially when they take on the typical traits of forced mobility [see the entry Forced migrations] –, the main focus is on international migrations, which involve the crossing of a state border. Moreover, this concept – as well as that of international migrant (hereinafter migrant) – refers to the crossing of a border not necessarily coinciding with a geographical border, but socially and politically defined according to criteria mostly and unilaterally set up by the country of destination and codified by migration policies, norms governing the recognition of political refuge or other protection status and the regimes of citizenship.

As already known, in fact, the right to emigration enshrined in international law does not correspond to a right to immigration into a specific country, whose regulation remains a state prerogative. Although current democracies cannot resort to entry filters based on ethnic or racial criteria (widely used in the history of modern migration), the possibility of entry and residence is normally subject to selective criteria that discriminate against potential migrants on the basis of aspects, such as level of qualification or country of origin, reflecting the political and economic interests of the state of destination, but also its values and ethical principles (with the provision, for example, of the right to family reunification or specific measures on behalf of vulnerable people or in need of protection).

The existence of rules restricting the international mobility of persons is at the base of the distinction between legal and irregular migrants [see the entry Irregular migrations], and legal migrants are in turn subject to systems of civic stratification, i.e systems of inequalities based on the relation between the state and the different categories of immigrants (i.e., EU/non-EU, temporary/permanent, economic/non-economic) that define the rights and opportunities granted or denied to them.

2. Migrations in the current era

Migrations have always accompanied human history, but the number of migrants is today the highest of all times, either in its absolute value or as a percentage of the world population (IOM, 2020). International mobility is a structural component of the globalization process and affects almost all the countries of the world and all social groups. However, the attention of researchers and of the social doctrine of the Church privileges the component most directly connected to the system of inequalities on a planetary scale; therefore, talking about migrations means questioning the very concept of global justice (Gaudium et spes, 1965, 63), where migration is both an adaptive response to injustice (and therefore an expression of an individual and family agency) and a process through which further forms of inequality and injustice take shape.

The growing interdependence between the different regions of the planet and the extraordinary progress in transport and communications are the main reasons for the increase of migrations; as well as demographic dynamics (which see economically advanced societies, subject to the aging process, opposed to developing ones, affected by high growth rates of the population of working age); the dramatic widening of inequalities at intra- and inter-societal level and the pauperisation of large sections of the population; the involution of the geo-political framework of many regions and the proliferation of conflicts and civil wars (the so-called «third world war carried out in pieces», as Pope Francis defined it); risks related to climate and environmental changes; the development of an “immigration industry” in its legal and illegal/criminal components.

Consistent with the social Magisterium (cf. for example, Evangelii gaudium, 2013, 184), there is a need, because of the awareness of the complexity of the phenomenon, to base all intervention plans on an objective and scientifically grounded analysis of the structural causes of migratory flows.

3. The relational and transformative nature of migrations

Despite an extraordinarily high number of potential candidates for migration, today migrants are only 3.5% of the world’s population. Moreover, regarding voluntary migrations (the case is different for forced migrations), people involved are rarely the poorest of the poor, instead they have at their disposal personal and relational resources necessary to implement a strategy, such as migration, which involves costs and risks. In addition to personal (i.e., education, personal initiative) and family resources (i.e., money to cover travel expenses), a supporting factor is the possibility of drawing on the social capital embedded in migration networks; or, again, from the existence – in communities of origin – of cultures of migration making it a socially approved (even when it involves a prolonged separation from the family) and “contagious” behavior, capable of triggering strong emulative drives. Precisely because of its relational nature, migration involves, from time to time, specific social categories (for instance, sometimes more men, others more women), in relation to the type of “migratory knowledge” incorporated in migratory networks and cultures, and to the opportunities it allows to access (for example, in terms of possible destinations or employment opportunities). Finally, it should be emphasized that migrations from the “South” to the “Global North” rarely reflect an individualistic strategy of success and personal development, but are usually the expression of a family mandate of which the most “suitable” family member to migrate is invested.

By virtue of their nature of total social fact, migrations trigger strong processes of social transformation, in the societies of origin as well as in those of destination. Sociology defines migration as a “mirror” through which it is possible to grasp the dynamics of the mechanism of society, the strengths and weaknesses of its institutions, the processes of change affecting it, the challenges that stand out on the horizon, the ethical implications of social policies and practices. For the countries of destination, migrations are also one of the main channels of their transformation into multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-religious societies, that is, a phenomenon that, in addition to having an impact on daily life and institutions (economic, political, cultural), challenges the very identity of societies and encourages them to rediscover their cultural and religious heritage. Today, even more than in the past, migrations challenge everyone «for the social, economic, political, cultural and religious problems they raise, for the dramatic challenges they pose to national and international communities» (Caritas in veritate, 2009, 62).

4. The Church’s special concern for migrants

In addition to investing the social, cultural, political and economic dimensions, migrations affect too the religious and pastoral ones. And they are the object of the “special” attention of the Church, present since the dawn of the Church’s social doctrine, reaffirmed in all social encyclicals, as well as in the pronouncements of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and, in particular, in the documents explicitly dedicated to them: from the Apostolic Constitution Exsul familia (1952) to the Apostolic Letter Pastoralis Migratorum cura (1969) and subsequent canonical norms, to the Instruction Erga migrantes caritas Christi (2004), and the document Welcoming Christ in Refugees and Forcibly Uprooted Persons (2013) published in the last weeks of Benedict XVI’s pontificate. Concern for migrants has also found its expression in the institution of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees – which has taken place every year since 1914, preceded by the divulgation of a specific Message – and of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (1988-2016). Finally, Pope Francis has made attention to migrants the hallmark of his pontificate: on a symbolic level, by directing to them a thought already in the first message “Urbi et Orbi” on Easter Day 2013, as well as his first pastoral visit outside the city of Rome (in Lampedusa, July 8, 2013); at the institutional level, with the creation (2017) of the “Migrants and Refugees” Section (hereinafter M&R) within the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, temporarily placed under the guidance of the Pontiff; at the political level, through the outcry against the «globalization of indifference» and the countless references to migrants in messages, homilies, greeting addresses, as well as in the encyclicals Laudato si’ (2015, 25, 134, 175) and Fratelli tutti (2020, 37-41, 129-141): a “recurrence” that has made its way into the world public opinion, far beyond the borders of the Catholic world, contributing to the debate on the desirable future system for the global governance of human mobility.

Equally important is the commitment of congregations (starting with those whose charism is precisely the care of migrants), religious orders, episcopal conferences, dioceses, movements, associations in the areas of social and pastoral assistance, the empowerment of migrants, advocacy for their rights. The treasure of the accumulated experience has been summed up in the 20 Points of Pastoral Action in which, without exhausting the Magisterium of the Church, some guidelines have been offered on the basis of the needs encountered and the best practices of the local Churches. These points are respectively grouped under the “four verbs” announced for the first time in the Message for the 104th Day of Migrants and Refugees (2018): welcoming, protecting, promoting, integrating.

5. Commitment to a fair and sustainable global governance

By selecting, in the extraordinary production of teachings of the Magisterium, certain points that open the way to a fruitful dialogue with social scientists and policy makers, we can firstly recall the need to build a system of global governance of human mobility (Fratelli tutti, 132), that takes into consideration a correct order of priority placing the dignity of the person at the top – foundation, cause and goal of every social institution (cf. Mater et magistra, 1961, 203) –, the integral development of every person and of all persons, and that respects the needs and well-being of migrants, their families, countries of origin, transit and destination (a perspective anticipating what is now called sustainable migration). In addition to encouraging developments in international law, this objective must be pursued through a cooperative method and a transnational approach, appreciating the role and experience of civil society – and of the religiously inspired organizations themselves, very active both in supporting migrants (see the Report on the Pastoral Care of Migration in Europe, produced by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in the framework of an agreement with M&R) and in the field of advocacy – and recognizing the commitment of countless individuals, families and communities in welcoming migrants and refugees. These principles, rooted in the tradition of the Church’s social doctrine – see for instance the reference made by Paul VI in Populorum progressio (1967, 42) and by Benedict XVI in Caritas in veritate (2009, 62) – have found further affirmation thanks to the involvement in the process leading to the adoption of the two Global Compacts devoted respectively to refugees and to “safe, orderly, regular and responsible migration”. In addition to the drafting of the 20 Action Points for Global Compacts – containing the suggestions sent to the United Nations and individual states – M&R has made an awareness-raising effort in support of the UN initiative which, significantly, the Vatican was the first state to sign up, despite some reservations about the text of the final documents approved during the Marrakesh Conference (2018).

6. A person-centered approach

A second point concerns the need to adopt a migrant-centered approach. Despite being mentioned by the Global Approach on Migration and Mobility – the general framework of the EU external migration policy – with its hope that migration policies respond first and foremost to the aspirations and problems of the people involved, this element struggles to find its place in a scenario dominated by the objectives of containing flows and a technocratic management of migration. With its solicitation to put the goal of integral human development before any other consideration (for example, in the evaluation of irregular migrations), the Social Doctrine of the Church suggests an unprecedented perspective on which to base both the analysis of migration processes and their governance (for example, when it is a matter of deciding whether there is a right to international protection), and the enhancement of integration paths for migrants and the management of multi-ethnic and multi-religious coexistence.

The migrant-centered approach requires an attention to all stages of the migration and integration process (from the preparation of departure to the eventual return to the migrants’ place of origin), and a willingness not only to recognizing migrants’ right to speak, but also to entering into a relationship with them (Fratelli tutti, 134) and to promote the «culture of encounter», «the only one capable of building a more just and fraternal world» (Message for the 2015 World Day of Migrants and Refugees). Finally, it leads to overturning the order of priorities in handling migrations, placing at the top no longer political and economic interests, but the promotion of the human person (Message for the 2016 World Day of Migrants and Refugees) and avoiding the temptations of exclusivism and cultural entrenchment.

7. From acting “for” to acting “with” migrants

Finally, anticipating the promotional logic that characterizes the current paradigms of integration (see, for instance, the European Agenda for Integration), the Magisterium identifies the migrant not as a mere recipient of interventions, but as an active interlocutor (Evangelii gaudium, 2013, 236) and encourages his/her participation in ecclesial, social and civic life by urging, on the part of the ecclesial community itself, the transition from working “for” migrants to working “with” migrants (it is emblematic the minor Synod “Church from the Gentiles”, promoted by the Archbishop of Milan). Moreover, migrants are seen as a manifestation of that diversity of the members of the human family that is a wealth to be safeguarded. What the Church’s social doctrine suggests is therefore an authentically intercultural approach, evoked by the formula “communion in diversity”, an explication of a «way to authentic integration, avoiding a cultural ghetto and, at the same time, opposing the pure and simple assimilation of migrants into the local culture» (Erga migrantes caritas Christi, 78) and builds – through the “multiple and varied wealth of gifts” moved by the Holy Spirit – “a unity that is never uniformity but multiform harmony that attracts” (Evangelii gaudium, 117). This implies, for example, «a specific pastoral care that takes into account their language and culture» (John Paul II, To the participants in the Third World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees, October 5, 1991), but also the promotion of a culture of welcome and coexistence, through awareness-raising actions to overcome prejudices and to foster the respect for legality, the acknowledgment of the value of diversity, the awareness of global interdependence.

8. Migration as a resource for the common good

In this regard, a further fundamental point is the need to include support for migrants and promotion of their integral human development into the development plans of society as a whole. Government authorities, in particular, are entrusted with the task of welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating within the limits allowed by the common good (Pacem in terris, 1963, 57). Migrants, as paradigmatic subjects of the vulnerability of the human condition, but also of the unethical development models, certainly require immediate responses to their problems, but they also urge the creation of a more just and sustainable international order: in the effective synthesis of Centesimus annus (1991), «the advancement of the poor constitutes a great opportunity for moral, cultural and also economic growth of all humanity» (28). In order to foster this perspective, the proposal for an integral human ecology developed by Francis definitely clarifies the link between migration and the social and environmental sustainability of development models.

On the procedural level, the communion in diversity suggested by the Magisterium shows the way to promote the involvement of migrants in pursuing the common good, the identification of the religious/spiritual dimension as constitutive of the practices of participation and mutual recognition, the role of interreligious dialogue – seen as a comparison between different conceptions of values, but also as a search for common principles – for the definition of a global ethics on which to base the answers to the problems of the current world (see in this regard what emerged from the University’s research of interest “Migrations and religious affiliations”). The Magisterium of the Church and its experience for and with migrants can thus contribute to forging the lexicon, the semantic framework and the ways to redesign economic and social paradigms and redefine theories and practices of justice and membership.

For the Church, finally, the phenomenon of migrations is connected to the history of salvation, and the stranger is the messenger of God who surprises and «sets up his tent among us» (Jn 1:14), offering the opportunity to live out catholicity to the fullest – experiencing the ethnic and cultural pluralism that is its constitutive dimension (Rev 7:9) – and to build some type of universal citizenship. Migrations, even though they sometimes involve tragedies and sufferings, are therefore part of God’s plan (Message for the 2017 World Day of Migrants and Refugees) and signify an extraordinary opportunity for self-reflection, deepening of the faith and recovery of its authentic meaning.