The webinar on Migration in Europe organised by the Teresian Association’s European Platform on 12 June was the first step in shaping the agreement, announced in November 2024, to create the TA Migration Network. It was attended by some 160 people from different corners of the world, including TA members, collaborators and friends, among others.
Presentation
Carolina Ramírez (left), president of the ACIT Levante-Norte Association and member of the TA European Platform’s facilitating team, welcomed and thanked the attendees and conveyed the enthusiasm of the team behind this initiative, which aims to address immigration from a critical perspective.
Next, the vice president of the Teresian Association, María Rita Martín Artacho, stressed that ‘the reality of migration affects us all and leaves no one indifferent’. For this and other reasons, she stated that ‘living this commitment unites us as an Association’.
Magdalena Alcover (right), from the Spanish Sector Council, then emphasised the need to understand the experience of someone who leaves their homeland. She then gave a brief presentation on the reasons behind the creation of the Migration Network. “It is a network conceived as a space for open connections, seeking to continue weaving networks of commitment and building a culture of encounter.”
See, judge and act
Marcela Villalobos Cid, lawyer and coordinator of the Migration Network at the French Bishops’ Conference, then took the floor to present the topic: ‘Migration in Europe: Understanding where we are and asking ourselves where we are going’, following the see, judge and act methodology.
In the ‘See’ section, she reviewed the data, highlighting that, according to the United Nations, there are currently more than 280 million migrants in the world. In Europe, there are some 87 million, representing approximately 12% of its population.
She also mentioned the five false topics surrounding migrants according to Jesuit Alberto Ares Mateos: ‘they are invading us’, ‘they receive more aid’, ‘they create insecurity’, ‘they take our jobs’, ‘the more walls, the more control’.
In the ‘Judging’ section, she reviewed the European Union’s migration policy and analysed the European Pact on Migration and Asylum. She stated that it ‘establishes more restrictions, introduces mandatory border procedures, broadens the scope of detection and increases the outsource of migration control’. Regarding the latter, she clarified that the migration issue would be transferred to countries such as Libya and Tunisia through ‘opaque and legally and ethically questionable agreements’.
For Marcela Villalobos, ‘taking action’ means ‘not remaining paralysed’. We are all called to act from our own position. But how? To answer this question, she outlined various action plans at personal, community, social and political levels. “There are signs of hope. Welcoming migrants is possible if there is political will and citizen mobilisation.”
'From our faith, we know that we see Christ in every migrant. Jesus himself was a migrant and a refugee. The Social Doctrine of the Church reminds us that everyone has the right to migrate if they cannot live with dignity in their own country, and that host communities have a moral duty to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants,’ she added.
In conclusion, she assured us that ‘migration is not a crisis; it is a structural feature of our time’. Today, more than ever, we need a clear vision, a compassionate heart and active hands. What is at stake is not only the fate of those who migrate, but also the future of our coexistence, our humanity, and our faith.’
Speakers of truth
To conclude the virtual meeting, attendees were offered a space for reflection and participation, during which several proposals were made.
The importance of building relationships with different people and interacting with diverse groups to understand each other's realities was emphasised. It was highlighted that we must participate, be voices of truth and not limit ourselves to our own comfort zones.
TA Info.
Translated with the help of digital tools.
Published in News