Paul KeenanHow much worse would the migrant crisis be without the Church, asks Paul Keenan
“Someone is talking too much.” The words, spoken during a heated row in Italy last week, would be hilariously ironic, were it not for the seriousness of the subject.
The ‘amusing’ nature of the quoted phrase stems from the fact that it was uttered by a member of that class of society, politicians, which owes its existence to talking (frequently too much) and, in this specific case, by a politician who has been making great personal gains by sounding off recently.
Matteo Salvini, current head of Italy’s Northern League, was responding to a critique offered to the ongoing migrant crisis in Italy.
In itself, the intervention, offered by Bishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary-general of the Italian bishops’ conference, was strong in its criticism of politicians who have thus far done little for suffering migrants, and sensible in its suggestions of immediate measures to be taken in the face of growing numbers arriving on Italian shores.
Change
Calling for a change in the Italian system from one of “rejection” to one of “welcome”, Bishop Galantino argued for a new approach to the processing of migrants so as to offer them the chance of working, thereby ending the image of the ‘loitering migrant’ with nothing to offer, an image which, he suggested, has been exploited by more extreme political elements.
“Unfortunately (anti-immigrant feeling) is being fuelled by a handful of cheap peddlers willing to say extraordinarily inane things just to get a vote,” the prelate said.
Cue the angry broadside from Mr Salvini, whose full response was that “someone is talking too much in the name of the Church”, coupled with the tartly posed question: “How many refugees are there in the Vatican?”
Unfortunately for Mr Salvini, while his comments must have played well with his support base, they fall under Bishop Galantino’s category of “inane” when one rephrases the question to account for how many migrants are currently being cared for by the Church. A more profound answer is suddenly gained.
When historians deal with the implosion of the Middle East post-Arab Spring and the rise of Islamic State, the record will show that the Church was not found wanting in its reaction to the current crisis from the outset.
Quite aside from Pope Francis’ words on the issue and his trips to the island of Lampedusa in the very earliest days of the migrant build-up, one can readily come up with examples of the Church’s ‘stake’ in the migrant crisis.
How many Italian Jesuits, who remained in Syria at the greatest personal risk to hold their communities together, would it take to soften Mr Salvini’s tone? (For the sake of record, let’s not forget, either, the 2013 disappearance of Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan Gregorios Yohanna and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Boulos Yazii, both of Aleppo. The prelates were in the act of a humanitarian mission when they disappeared.)
If he broadened his vision beyond the precincts of the Vatican, Mr Salvini would find countless Christian churches in Syria and Iraq which provided sanctuary and supplies to the multitude of internally displaced people fleeing the conflicts.
The Church did not wait for migrants to reach the gates of the Vatican to begin dealing proactively with displaced peoples; across the refugee camps of Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon today, members of Caritas Internationalis are bringing Church-funded assistance to migrants.
Perhaps Mr Salvini would prefer to look south, towards the innumerable African nations, where, in the absence of political care for the citizens of sovereign nations there, the Church’s provision of education and healthcare means that countless people do not take the migrant path. Such numbers do not, of course, make for headlines, nor the peaceful outcomes to Church initiatives in states such as the Central African Republic, Burundi and others toward neighbourly co-existence between differing communities.
It is this record of achievement which gained a kind ear for Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, who on his recent visit to his native Ghana, ‘dared’ to take African political leaders to task for their own share of the responsibility for the migrant crisis.
“We see our citizens crossing the Sahara to get to Europe and being attacked by Bedouins and dying,” he said. “We see them crossing the Mediterranean and drowning. And for those who survive, it is the European Union which is struggling to take care of them. What are our governments saying? What are they doing about it?”
Strong words, delivered to those who need to hear them; not a diatribe levelled at powerless migrants for daring to seek survival.
Sadly, as a result of the ongoing chaos Europe-wide relating to the distribution of migrants from both Italy and Greece, the prospects – in the short term at least – for the Northern League’s continuing prominence over Church calls for level-headed generosity look very good.
As the powers that be in Brussels and Berlin press for EU states to accept migrants, they are being met with furious rejections, not least among newer members to the East. For example, while Poland is requiring a Christian-only intake as a pre-condition to its playing a part, others, such as Latvia and Hungary have been beset by furious infighting over the issue, arguing that its own citizens have already migrated by the tens of thousands due to economic realities.
Hungary is currently in the process of building a major border fence to prevent any further migration to the state. Romania stands alone in the region for its acceptance of the quota of migrants requested by the European Commission. (Ireland can justly take a bow also; while being outside the remit of the quota system, the Government here nevertheless stepped up to announce it would accept 600 mainly Syrian and Eritrean migrants over the next two years.)
The reality is, however, that the relocation plan may ultimately collapse back into the chaos of talk and half-hearted responses, effectively slamming the door on Italian and Greek hopes of distributing what is ‘Europe’s burden’.
The Church, meanwhile, for all the invective against it, will continue to respond to the crisis with more than just words.