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Archbishop Agostino Marchetto from the Vatican talks with Mary Wisniewski, director of the Office of Mission Awareness.
Jordan McMorrough | Today's Catholic |
The integration of immigrants into a new society requires effort from both the immigrants and their new neighbors, said a Vatican official in South Texas recently.
Integration is a two-way process, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, said during a speech Jan. 26 at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.
Integration “is the responsibility not only of the immigrant but also of the host society” and is achieved through open dialogue, the archbishop added.
Archbishop Marchetto’s office at the Vatican released the text of his speech on the efforts of different faith communities to understand and approach the challenges of contemporary immigration.
The archbishop has been visiting Catholic colleges and universities in the United States to expand knowledge of the 2004 instruction from the Pontifical Council titled, “The Love of Christ Towards Immigrants: Our Role in Offering Hospitality to All,” within this country.
Archbishop Marchetto said a new immigrant must show “respect for his/her own cultural heritage, without forgetting or discarding it.”
But, at the same time, he said, if immigrants are not open to the culture of their new homeland, “they could adopt an attitude of closure, leading to the formation of ghettos with their co-nationals and, unfortunately, to their marginalization.”
Differences in religion, teaching methods, social conventions, language and even food can be disorienting because immigrants perceive themselves as standing out from the majority, the archbishop said.
The host country also must recognize the contribution immigrants make not only economically, but also culturally, he said.
“When recognition is given to the immigrant’s positive contribution to the host society, through his culture and his talents, the immigrant himself would become better motivated to find a high degree of interaction with the local population,” he said.
Only when diversity is valued, the archbishop said, can equal rights and duties flourish for everyone. “A conjunction which is very Catholic is ‘and’ not ‘or,’” the Pontifical Council secretary emphasized.
Both immigrants and citizens of the host country must be committed to respecting people’s dignity — which include those ways that make one person different from another — while also respecting the customs and laws of the host country, he said.
The archbishop said that contemporary migration encompasses the greatest movement of people at any time in history, affecting about 300 million people worldwide. “It has become an event that affects the structure of society,” explained the Vatican official.
Archbishop Marchetto also said that respect for the religious freedom of immigrants is essential for promoting their integration.
If “society wants to benefit from international migration, then it must respect the freedom of migrants to profess, practice and even change their religion,” he said.
The instruction, “The Love of Christ Towards Migrants,” also emphasizes the need for Catholic colleges and universities to be a primary place of welcome to all, including Muslims, Jews and those of other Christian faiths. It also encourages Catholic higher learning institutions to seek opportunities of faith development in other countries.
Archbishop Marchetto was born Aug. 28, 1940, in Vicenza, Italy. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1964 and then ordained a bishop in 1985. He was appointed to his current position on Nov. 6, 2001.
In this post he often lectures on the need for “enculturation” of the Christian message, specific measures to care for migrants and refugees, and advocating for immigrants, particularly those in distress.
The archbishop is the author of Ecumenical Council of Vatican II: A Counterpoint of its History, published by the Vatican Library in 2005. He also lectures on how the Second Vatican Council was not a break from the past, but a bridge to the future.
“The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council was a time of continual renewal in fidelity to tradition. History is the memory of the future,” said Archbishop Marchetto in his Alamo City address. “A correct interpretation of the council is fundamental for the church today and tomorrow. The signs of the times must be interpreted because we are taking into consideration the magisterium.”
Following his talk at the Marianist university, the archbishop answered questions from the assembled students dealing with the Vatican response to Iraqi Christian refugees and the ongoing violence in the Gaza strip.
During the day of the presentation, Archbishop Marchetto, spoke to classes at St. Mary’s, met with faculty members and visited the headquarters of Catholic Charities of the archdiocese.