Kościół wobec migrantów

Abstract

The 5th World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees entitled “Starting Afresh from Christ. Towards a New Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees” took place in Rome in November 2003. The organizers of the Congress – Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant - made a reference to an apostolic letter written for the closing of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, in which the Church is assigned plans and pastoral priorities for the beginning of a new millennium of Christianity. Among many problems troubling the world today, the phenomenon of migration is on the increase. It brings about a range of subsequent perturbations on a regional and an international scale. A complex issue of the rights of migrants arises. The Church cannot be indifferent to these phenomena. They become a more and more urgent issue for the pastoral care, including these countries which have not yet been faced with them. A new reflection, as was stressed in the title of the congress, is needed on the part of all subjects of the Church. Likewise, assuming a creative attitude, which might result in concrete pastoral solutions, is desirable. With a reference to the congress in Rome the author of the paper wants to share several pastoral reflections on the phenomenon of world migration. A reference is made to the Polish pastoral care in order to point to a problem, which – though still small scale at present – is already at the door and is bound to increase. If it is not possible to provide detailed solutions, formulating just a few pastoral postulates is worth an effort.