Easter is a time to think about the challenges of migration
EASTER is a time of hope, of new life and of new beginnings. For Christians, it gives us an opportunity each year to renew the commitment to our faith and to our spiritual journey with Jesus Christ, our Risen Saviour. The fact that this season occurs in spring reinforces the emphasis on ‘beginning again’ or of taking a renewed approach to life and to the issues that confront us personally and in our community and wider society. There are many such issues today. Easter is a time for us as a community to look anew at key questions such as migration in Ireland – both inward and outward, as well as our ability to provide a sustainable future for people living in Ireland and to welcome those in particular need and to integrate them in a meaningful way.
In his message for St Patrick’s Day, Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, highlighted the fact that in the year to April 2023, some 64,000 people left Ireland, half of them being Irish citizens. While some of these did return home during that period, bringing with them valuable new life skills, the fact remains that for many young people across the island of Ireland today, the prospect of a better-quality of life outside of Ireland is seen as a better option than remaining here.
AT THE same time, millions of people worldwide are forced to migrate, having been displaced by war, oppression or economic hardship. Many too are deceived, captured or exploited by human traffickers. Archbishop Martin calls for ‘an honest and open conversation about migration, both outward and inward’. He asks ‘how can we truly become an island of belonging and hope where our young people, health workers and teachers want to stay, and where others want to come and live among us?’
This is an important conversation for us to have and it must move away from extremes and focus on the lived realities of everyday life for people and communities, especially in the areas of housing and community services.
The issue of people seeking refuge here in Ireland has become an important topic in public and Church discourse in Ireland. The challenges posed by the recent increase in those seeking refuge among us are well highlighted. As a nation and as people of faith, the arrival of immigrants raises challenges for each of us – above all the challenge to do the right thing.
As a people of faith – there is a distinctive attitude and purpose of intent we can bring to the conversation. For our faith impels us to strive to see the face of Jesus in those who seek shelter in our midst – the
Gospel of Matthew 25:35 speaks clearly of making the stranger welcome. To reach out and welcome is indeed our first reaction.
Catholics, at an individual and collective level the length and breadth of the country, are involved in various initiatives and practical responses to the emerging issues of immigration. Hundreds of thousands of Catholic parishioners contribute financially to assisting immigrants and refugees along with those parish communities, religious orders, groups and individuals who are doing so much to highlight this area and to practically intervene to assist our immigrants. The divisive narrative and destructive actions of some in this regard are far from a Christian response.
OF COURSE, we must acknowledge that the movement of peoples brings both exciting opportunities and real challenges for the society that welcomes them. A coherent just approach is needed by our civil authorities. Full consultation with local communities, addressing their concerns, and careful long-term planning along with the provision of adequate resources are essential to preserve social cohesion.
Our real strength as a Christian community is to build a culture of encounter where we can meet those who seek refuge among us as people – fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters – people with their own particular stories. Families, just like ours with their hopes and dreams that tomorrow might be somewhat better than today.
Our hope is that as new political leadership takes office, we can ask ourselves as a society how we can promote a culture of encounter and dialogue in our communities, including faith communities, many of which are enriched by the presence of immigrants from many parts of the world among their congregations. How can we, as Pope Francis exhorts us to, responsibly ‘welcome, protect, promote and integrate’ (cf Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, 129).