“Migration a problem but also an opportunity,” says Archbishop Marchetto
(Jan.27,2009): “Migration is a dramatic sign of our troubled times. It is a vast
phenomenon that some institutions and governments would like to control, even stop,
until they realize that it is a structural component of present-day society’s socio-
economic and political reality,” said the Secretary of Vatican’s Pontifical Council
for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. Archbishop Agostino Marchetto
made the remarks on Tuesday (Jan. 27) in his address at San Diego University in the
United States. Noting it is therefore useless to try to eliminate the phenomenon ,
the prelate said, we must concentrate all our efforts in responding to the challenges
that it presents and identify the benefits it could bring. He noted that Pope Benedict
XVI said that “Migration is not only a problem but also an opportunity and a challenge”.
Archbishop Marchetto said that when people migrate, they carry with them not only
their capacity to work and produce, but also their personal characteristics, customs
and traditions, beliefs and religion. However, when they come in contact with another
nation, they have to get used to another language and new customs. He recalled a suggestion
given by late Pope John Paul II, that the best way to take, for a proper relationship
between migrants and the host country is the path of genuine integration. Archbishop
Marchetto stressed that immigrants must always be treated with the respect due to
the dignity of every human person. Noting that the theme of the meeting was “Religion,
migration and national identity”, the prelate said countries with ancient Christian
roots are now home to multicultural societies. India, where Hinduism prevails, he
said, has welcomed Catholic religious men and women who humbly offer useful service
to the poorest in the country, in spite of the recent difficulties and persecution.
Finally,Archbishop Marchetto recalled Pope Benedict’s message for this year’s World
Day of Peace “that we all share in a single Divine plan – we are called to form one
family”.