In a pastoral letter published on the Episcopal Conference website and read in parishes, Ireland's bishops recalled the need to welcome migrants to the country, while voices called for the borders to be closed. “The Catholic faith itself is the faith of immigrants,” she emphasized, referring to the history of the country's patron saint, St. Patrick, an immigrant from a neighboring island.
Jean-Benoit Harrell – Vatican City
“Exploring what hospitality means to immigrants in Ireland todayThis subtitle of ” A long pastoral letter The Irish Bishops' Conference sets the tone. This document titled was published on Saturday, October 12th “A million welcome?”The greeting and welcome in Gaelic is an invocation to welcome immigrants to the country with the commandment to love your neighbor and the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The letter comes at a particularly tense time on the migration issue. The reception of migrants has become a major political issue since violent riots in Dublin on November 23, following a knife attack by an Algerian man on three children leaving school. Moreover, last January, 66% of Irish people believed that the country had welcomed too many immigrants.
First, the bishops assure “Immigration has played an important role in Irish history», as in the great family of the nineteenth century. Saint Patrick, the founder of Catholic Ireland, was himself an immigrant, having been born in present-day Great Britain. “Son of Migrants Pope Francis continues to emphasize the sacred nature of the migrant journey, recalling that to welcome migrants is to welcome Christ.“, also underlines the Irish Bishops' Conference.
A culture of confrontation
Next, defenders of the Catholic faith in Ireland take the example of the many Irish immigrants from around the world who contributed to the development of the Catholic faith through parishes and various communities. Therefore, the Catholic Church, according to them, has a real role of welcome and integration to play.
Finally, the document does not avoid the statistical question and recalls that 149,200 people came to live in Ireland last year and 69,900 people left the country in the same period. “Immigration to Ireland is currently high, although not at the levels previously seen during the rise of the Celtic Tiger period (1990-2002).», thus turning the bishops into perspective.
In conclusion, bishops form a lifelong desire “Welcome and defend immigrants”, for filling “rThe common role of “pilgrim migrants” is to continue the Irish tradition of openness, encounter and hospitality and to bear witness to God's eternal love.“.
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