Building bridges between the major cities of North and South America

The Synodal Journey and Migration:

Building Bridges between Big Cities to Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate

Building bridges g the gap between the major cities

of North and South America

On July 1, the webinar titled The Synodal Journey and Migration: Building Bridges between Big Cities to Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate was held.

The webinar is an initiative of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL) and the Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI), in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), the CLAMOR Network, Caritas Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN). The purpose of the webinar is to build bridges between the big cities of North and South America by fostering dialogue between bishops, theologians and civil society.

The event was attended by His Excellencies Monsignor Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina and Monsignor Gustavo García-Siller, Metropolitan Archbishop of San Antonio (TX) in the United States. Professor Emilce Cuda, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL) and Prof. Victor Carmona, from the University of San Diego presented their theological reflections. The meeting was moderated by Fr. Marco Strona, Director of Caritas for the Diocese of Fabriano-Matelica.

In his introductory reflections, Fr. Aldo Skoda, director of SIMI, pointed out that “the symbol of humanity in movement is undoubtedly the city, which is experiencing exponential growth. In fact, many authors do not hesitate to speak of the “century of cities”, thus indicating “not only a spatial displacement of people, but a new lifestyle that involves the individual and the community in new relationships, belongings and identities”. Many fears run through urban communities and often find their identification in the stranger and the poor For this reason cities transform into places of marginalization and discrimination. Therefore, urban communities are not only a social challenge, but also a theological-pastoral one and the Church is called to be a servant of a difficult dialogue.

At the beginning of his reflection, Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, reminded us how last month Pope Francis invited us to pray for migrants fleeing war, highlighting how the issue of migration is very present in the Pope’s heart and in his magisterium. Illustrating the situation in Buenos Aires, where migrants arrive, he also highlights the reality of a daily flow of people entering the city in search of a better future, which means looking for food, often in the garbage, and then returning from where they have arrived. This also constitutes a migratory theme that he calls “poverty of concrete”. In this enormous loneliness and existential anguish that is lived in the city of Buenos Aires, it is necessary to make the “revolution of fraternity”, to make that “the synodality is not only a text question, but that it is to walk as the migrants walk”. The strategy for this situation is that the church be a “space of reception”. In a context such as that of the Rio de la Plata, characterized by the economic crisis of the country, the rejection of internal migration, and where there is a moment of great confrontation, it is necessary to “raise the spiritual taste of being people” and generate a link where the other has a name and surname. This is fundamental to be able to access the problem of migration from the faith, without being reduced only from the political, sociological, ideological concepts and also from the love of the neighbor.

Monsignor Gustavo Garcia-Siller in line with the four verbs welcome, protect, promote and integrate shares examples of pastoral programs and actions in the diocese of San Antonio, Texas, where migrants arriving from Mexico are received and from there move on to other parts of the United States. Highlighting programs that provide direct assistance, accompaniment in the search for employment, medical care, legal and financial assistance, youth mentoring and family reunification, Bishop Garcia-Siller also highlights the promotion of better political regulation and reflects on the fact that “integration is developed through reception, protection and promotion”. There are also strategies for integrating migrants liturgically in the parish. “Migrants”, he concludes, “are a path of hope and synodality is nothing more than walking together, united”.

After the interventions of the two archbishops, who exalted the theme of “we” in a large community and the need to work so that migrants may have life and live in abundance, the floor was given to the theologians, who first reflected on the words of the archbishops and then engaged in a dynamic, interesting and open dialogue.

Professor Victor Carmona offered a brief reflection on how the synodal process in San Diego has been marked by the polarization that has taken root in U.S. society, offering three points for reflection. First, how the “synodal process requires places of encounter,” such as shelters and migrant care centers, which even today are often unknown to many in the local churches. These represent points of encounter that lead to listening, reflection and discernment. Secondly, he emphasizes how “synodality is essential to recognize the wounds of migrants, which threaten their dignity, to heal them and also to stop causing them”. Finally, he emphasizes how “the encounter in polarized contexts such as the United States represents a great challenge for synodality” suggesting that “the pastoral experience in San Diego requires a polycentric synodal leadership that has to include the voices of the migrants themselves”.

Professor Emilce Cuda reminded us that “what we have between north and south is not a problem, it is a grace. It is the grace of our people walking, sharing their culture, celebration and also their sadness”. The Professor highlights how there are already two bridges between the north and the south. The first bridge is with the university students, where the builders are the young people; the second bridge is with the organized communities where the builders are workers, businessmen, unions, the community. Today, continues the secretary of PCAL, we are inaugurating the third bridge: the one between the big cities, where the builders are the archbishops. “We want to highlight the great role that the Catholic Church has and will have in taking care of the discarded bodies where the states are withdrawing”.

In conclusion, from the conversation of this first meeting, Brother Gioacchino Campese, Professor at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, underlined three things. First of all, the complexity of the migratory phenomenon and that it is not possible to speak of migration with a thousand words, but it is necessary to know the meaning of the words. Second, according to Msgr. García Cuerva to break with anonymity, because we are talking about people; anonymity can be lost by generating a community, allowing people to meet each other. He ends with the question of hope and how it is the migrants themselves who give us hope since they do not passively receive everyone; they are “the prophets of hope”. We have to nourish this hope with spirituality and continue to build bridges to nourish hope.