Bishops and Delegates involved with the Pastoral Care of Migrants in Europe concluded their 3-day meeting on Sunday (15th July, 2018) in Stockholm, Sweden. The theme of the meeting combined both migration and news in order to train participants in communicating the Church’s work among migrants.
As reported by Vatican news, the press release issued on Monday read, “Migration within the European continent has been and still is healthy for the faith, because many Christians who came from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, or Africa have maintained and live their faith in the host countries. In the secularized host countries, biased and hostile perceptions of immigrants form the public opinion that “national governments should first take care of their own citizens rather than migrants”, the release states. Such thinking forgets about the innate dignity of each person. Thus, the role of communication in the narration of human mobility in its tragedies but also in its beauty and wealth appears to be a crucial responsibility of the Church too.”
General Secretary, Msgr Duarte da Cunha, and Secretary, Fr Luis Okulik, for the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Social Issues for the European Catholic Bishops’ Conferences concluded the meeting by presenting several priorities. First among these is the “importance of communicating how beautiful the Church is”. Other priorities listed are using appropriate language, providing context when reporting events, challenging the common narrative by entering into relationship with others and avoiding the use of “abstract terms”.
