To give “priority” to unaccompanied minors. To invite the governments to act with “political realism.” To face the problems “without fear.” “Major” challenges lie ahead. For this reason European Churches must step up close cooperation. These were the highlights of the meeting that brought together the delegates of French, English and German bishops’ Conferences, to discuss the refugee crisis in the respective countries. The meeting was attended also by Monsignor Duarte da Cunha, General Secretary of the Council of European Bishops Conferences, (CCEE).
The starting point was the situation in Calais, experienced by the bishops’ conferences of France and England. “On the one side, – said Fr Lorenzo Prencipe, director of the national Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants of the French Bishops’ Conference – the situation is following the direction of a dispersion of migrants across France, while on the other side there is a constant arrival of migrants who want to cross the English Channel.” The Bishops call upon governments and social and political leaders to act with “political realism.” This means “to reflect on the ways to handle and address the reality of migratory flows. Until now there has been an attempt to conceal this situation, or, by means of agreements, to bring it as far as possible away from European borders, in Libya or Turkey”, said Fr Prencipe.
“This is how things stand, and the question we should be asking ourselves is how to manage this situation and process it internally, instead of expelling it.”
There is great concern over unaccompanied minors who are presently in Europe. There are approximately 600/700 minors in Calais. Numbers have gone down compared to recent estimates, as a large part of them were brought to refugee reception and guidance Centres. Most of the minors are 15-16 year-olds. Their parents remained in Syria or they died in the attempt of reuniting with relatives in the United Kingdom. If they don’t succeed, as soon as they turn 18 they will enter the spiral of so-called illegal migrants or of potential asylum-seekers.
The House of Lords’ refusal to welcome 3 thousand unaccompanied Syrian minors who remained alone in Calais and in other refugee camps throughout Europe was felt as a hard blow. The French coordinator for migration, Fr. Precipe, said he believes that the English refusal was greatly influenced by the debates on the “Brexit”, the referendum whose outcome will decide whether England will remain an EU member country. Monsignor Patrick Lynch, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, in charge of the Bishops’ Office for Migration, speaking from London, gave some guidance to governments: “to prioritize unaccompanied minors’ reunification with their families living in the United Kingdom, and to do it as soon as possible.”
“What the Church is saying by following the example of the Holy Father, is that only love can win.”Thus Monsignor Duarte da Cunha, General Secretary of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE), summarised the position of the Church in Europe before mounting populism and walls. “Only if we love and welcome the other person with love, will we receive love in return. If we are afraid and we defend ourselves, the reaction will be one of challenge and tension.” “The Church is cautious, prudent, realistic”, he added. “The Church is on the forefront of the care to people in need, and she is equally committed not so much in words but in concrete gestures for the establishment of harmony and social cohesion. This is what the Church has been doing throughout Europe, from the North to the South of the continent. The answer to populism is not an ideology, it’s a human life.”
The invitation of CCEE General Secretary is to focus on the “invisible” Europe, in the front line in helping the refugees: from Church and Catholic lay organizations to parishes. “What is happening in Europe today, the increasing closures, the mounting walls and fears, are the result of a past in which people have been taught to be consumerist, selfish and individualistic. We cannot expect a culture of values after having promoted a form of education without values for years. It’s quite evident that such values don’t exist because we have stripped them away.”
“The problem –concluded CCEE General Secretary Msgr. Duarte Da Cunha – is not the walls. The question is whether efforts are truly being made within the legal framework, or if these efforts are a pretence, to handle realistically the phenomenon, undertaking integration processes.
