Vatican’s Migrants &
Refugees Section Covid-19 bulletin: the Church's contribution
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| Migrants workers from Chattisgarh sit near the railway station during lockdown, India (ANSA) |
This week’s bulletin issued by the Vatican’s Migrant and
Refugees Section focuses on the help the Catholic Church is offering to
migrants and refugees worldwide, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
By Vatican News
Migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of human
trafficking are amongst the most vulnerable people in our society. During the
Covdid-19 pandemic, they have become even more so, subjected to numerous types
of injustice and discrimination that threaten their rights, security and
health.
That’s why the Migrants and Refugees Section of the
Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has been issuing
weekly bulletins aimed at sharing information and heightening awareness
regarding problems, solutions and initiatives put into practice by the various
Catholic actors who accompany vulnerable people and communities on the move.
This
week’s bulletin, # 8, analyses the way in which “in the poorer corners
of the globe — in refugee camps, slums and Indigenous communities — the Church
is emerging as a critical line of defense against COVID-19”.
Catholic organisations responding to the crisis
Catholic Relief Service (CRS), the International Catholic
Migration Commission (ICMC) and local Caritas organisations have been providing
services around the world. In Jordan, hotlines have been set up and online
courses organised to continue providing support to ICMC beneficiaries. Caritas
organisations in Macau and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been
distributing food, household items and tools – especially in areas, such as in
DRC, where a humanitarian crisis, triggered by conflict, has displaced hundreds
of thousands of people.
Local Churches responding to the crisis
The Catholic Bishops of India have intervened to assist and
protect stranded migrant workers, specifically by distributing food kits to the
workers and their families living in temporary settlements. The Church in India
is also hosting around 200 migrants divided into three structures.
A campaign promoted by the bishops of Venezuela and Colombia
has enabled 3,000 Venezuelans to return home, via the José Antonio Páez
International Bridge, humanitarian corridor.
A Catholic Church-run home in Mexico is fighting coronavirus
and xenophobia, hosting Central and South American migrants who were sent back
from the US border and obliged to return to their country of origin via Mexico.
Its residents are all provided with medical certificates by the home, in
cooperation with Doctors Without Borders.
Religious Congregations responding to the crisis
Around the world religious congregations have been welcoming
migrants. These include Scalabrinian missionaries in Mexico and two
congregations in Spain. Jesuits in Central Africa have also undertaken several
initiatives such as food delivery, the distribution of sanitising equipment and
the organisation of emergency services for people living with HIV/AIDS, who are
particularly vulnerable at this time.
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