Report on Care of Migrants
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REPORT ON CARE OF MIGRANTS I1 REPORT ON THE PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS IN EUROPE IN 2017 THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF MILAN AND MIGRANTS & REFUGEES SECTION DICASTERY FOR PROMOTING INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT This report provides the results of a pilot study realised within the frame- work of a cooperation agreement signed between the Migrants and Refu- gees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Catholic University of Milan, aimed at providing the First Report on the Pastoral Care of Migrants in Europe1. It is composed by two sections. The first one provides a tentative map- ping of the initiatives realised by Catholic organizations and institutions all around Europe; the second one offers a collection of good practices cov- ering the four “verbs” suggested by Pope Francis in his Message for the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2018: to Welcome, to Protect, to Promote, and to Integrate. The first part of the report – Quantitative Analysis – provides the results of a survey aimed to identify, classify and describe all the pastoral activities implemented in 2017 by the Catholic Church in the 39 countries members of the Council of the Bishops’ Conference of Europe. Data emerged from a questionnaire sent to all the Episcopal Conferences (and to various catholic organizations) are presented and discussed, along with some recommen- dations and suggestions. The second part – Qualitative Analysis – offers a collection of 23 Good Prac- tices (GPs), selected in order to cover a wide range of European countries and to obtain a sample composed of at least five GPs for each of the four “verbs” proposed by Pope Francis. The target groups of these practices are different, due to the complex character of migration phenomena; in any case, vulnerable individuals and groups of migrants, who are at heightened risk of human rights violations, are the most represented. These 23 GPs are just a drop in the ocean of thousands of initiatives on migrants welcoming, but they give evidence of the significant efforts put in place by the Catholic Church. 1 The analysis was performed by Dr. Antonio Cuciniello and Dr. Felicia Annamaria Robles, su- pervised by the Scientific Director of the research, Prof. Laura Zanfrini, assisted by Prof. Giovanni Giulio Valtolina. FIRST PART: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH 3 DATA AND METHODOLOGY 5 OVERALL ASSESSMENT 8 RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 10 QUANTITATIVE SECTION 13 1. SUPPORT FOR INTEGRATION 13 2. EMERGENCY AND BASIC ASSISTANCE 26 3. SOCIAL AID AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT 29 4. MIGRANTS’ PASTORAL CARE 32 5. SPECIFIC INITIATIVES FOR UNACCOMPANIED MINORS 34 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION This report is the first section of a pilot study realised within the framework of a cooperation agreement signed between the Dicastery for Promoting In- tegral Human Development and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, aimed at providing the first edition of the “Report on pastoral care of Migrants in Europe”. It is a complementary outcome alongside the second section of this study concerning the collection of 23 Good Practices (GPs) in order to obtain a sample for each of the four verbs proposed by Pope Fran- cis in the Message for the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2018 (14 January 2018): to welcome, to protect, to promote, and to integrate. In contemporary migration scenario there is an increasing pastoral and civ- ic interest in the activities carried worldwide by the Catholic Church. Al- though research on this topic has grown in recent years a) few reviews of data-based, outcome studies on the migration phenomenon managed through Church educational and first aid structures and system have ap- peared, but b) very little is known about the breadth of activities regarding the Church in the European context. Indeed, despite the fact that Pope Francis documents on migration pas- toral activities and aid provided by Catholic Church have received world- wide attention in recent years, few studies have summarized empirical- ly-based outcome research in this emerging area (e.g. ICMC, JRS, Centro Astalli, Malteser International, Caritas, Migrantes periodical and/or annual reports). Moreover, no in-depth analysis on both empirical and Migration pastoral care in Europe has appeared. Thus, this study was designed to address both these issues (a + b). First, the current analysis attempts to gauge the scope of the research domain of migration and Church commitment by conducting an analysis of data col- lected via a structured questionnaire, exploring particular situations of each European country. Second, a subset of these data, with a focus on empirical outcome, on the efficacy of emerging humanitarian and pastoral care in mi- gration field was examined. 1 INTRODUCTION This report identifies a range of crucial points that need to be considered, in order to not only address pivotal topics, but either to prepare for issues on the horizon of pastoral experience(s) and multidisciplinary expertise. These are national and international issues that demand an informed approach from governments, Church Institutions/Organisations, communities and individuals. Rising to these challenges demands innovative thinking and a global perspective, integrating and applying proven governance method- ologies to generate even better, more sustainable pastoral program out- comes and related dissemination. The focal aim is to help to fully understand the underlying factors that define the arising cases, to identify and rigorously evaluate possible solutions, and deliver facts and features that can inform sound policy decisions. 2 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH AIMS OF THE RESEARCH The research study has the purpose of a summary of the key findings obtained from replies to 31 questionnaires received in the framework of the inquiry that examined the overall pastoral care-Migration nexus. Thus, mapping the typological “domain” structure of the pastoral care related to Migration across Europe would be informative. Furthermore, obtaining a sense of emergent pastoral care situation related to Migration issues would be of high interest to all the actors involved. More specifically, the following five sections were investigated: support for integration (training; health care; legal aid), emergency and basic assistance, social aid and psychological support, migrants’ pastoral care and specific initiatives for unaccompanied minors. As for the support for integration section, the training area has explored the implementation of linguistic and civic/citizenship courses, as well as, vocational training courses and initiatives for professional inclusion and requalification (for different users: migrants in search of job, asylum seek- ers/refugees, victims of trafficking or other vulnerable migrants), initiatives of scholastic support (for different users: newly arrived foreign minors, unaccompanied (foreign) minors or foreign minors who need support for learning) and courses of native language and grants for needy/deserv- ing students. With reference to health care area, different types of users have been considered: migrants not covered by health system, victims of trafficking, victims of abuse/torture/mutilations and migrants in particular economic difficulty. Finally, concerning legal aid area, different activities have been investigated: formalities for issue/renewal of residence permits, formalities for recognition of the status of refugee/ asylum seeker or other status of protection, aid for internal displaced persons, legal aid for victims of discrimination, legal aid for victims of trafficking and legal aid for unac- companied minors. As for the emergency and basic assistance section, the following types of ini- tiatives have been considered: help/assistance at frontiers/places of transit, rescue/assistance at sea, reception centres for asylum seekers/refugees, “diffused reception” (networks between parishes, hospitality in families, initi- 3 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH atives promoted thanks to cooperation of local actors, etc.), accommodation centres for migrants or for vulnerable categories (e.g. mothers with children, victims of trafficking etc.), mobile/street units (e.g. ambulances, distribution of blankets/clothing/meals etc.), support for prostitutes, canteen services for the poor, showers and wardrobe services, Supplies of food aid and of clothing, payment of rent for accommodation and of utilities. As for the social aid and psychological support section, the following types of initiatives have been contemplated: counselling centres, social aid services, individualized support for looking for accommodation, individualized support for looking for work and services of psychological support. As for the migrants’ pastoral care section, the number of ethnic chaplaincies, migrants who attend the ethnic chaplaincies, “ad hoc” diocesan offices (e.g. Pastoral department for migrants) and initiatives of ecumenical/interreligious dialogue have been requested, along with initiatives of personalised spiritual assistance in the following facilities: immigration reception centres, “ad hoc” diocesan offices, prisons, hospitals/hospices and homes for the elderly. As for the specific initiatives for unaccompanied minors section, the follow- ing types of initiatives have been considered: reception centres, “diffused reception” (networks between parishes, hospitality in families, initiatives promoted thanks to cooperation of local actors, etc.), courses on the lan- guage