Migrants were at the forefront of a meeting between Pope Francis and members of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) on Monday (May 22). The pontiff told bishops how important it is not only to host migrants but also to promote their integration.
Migrantes, a foundation of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), reminded the Italian population once again over the weekend of a May 11 message by Pope Francis for the next World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
Anti-mafia priest Father Luigi Ciotti, founder the association Libera (Free), has urged Italy to welcome migrants.
Italian bishops said at the spring session of the Permanent Episcopal Council in Rome last week that migrants should be welcomed into the country instead of being pushed back.
A prominent Catholic bishop and leader of the Migrantes foundation is among NGO leaders to call on the Italian government to scrape their new decree regarding the rescue of migrants and refugees by humanitarian ships.
As the UN registers more than 100 million people trying to escape war, persecution and hunger, those trying to help migrants and refugees may feel like they have little to celebrate. But the fight for better humanitarian assistance and peace-building continues.
Italy has welcomed more than 300 migrants via humanitarian corridors over the past two weeks. The new right-wing government has said it says 'yes' to the corridors and 'no' to traffickers and "illegal immigration".
Pope Francis has called for a "more inclusive and fraternal future", recalling that migrants "are to be welcomed, accompanied, promoted and integrated". The pontiff made the statements in the southern Italian city of Matera on Sunday (September 25), the Catholic Church's World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
A German nun, accused of abetting illegal immigration and fined for granting church asylum to two Nigerian women last year, has been acquitted by a district court.
The Christian Associations of Italian Workers (ACLI) have opened an office at the national church of Ukrainians in Rome to offer aid and assistance to refugees. The help desk will be open on Thursdays with specialized operators.
A cemetery was inaugurated on June 10 by the Caritas charity in the city of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy for 45 migrants who died in June 2016 when trying to cross the Mediterranean towards Italian shores.
In 2020, a monk in Germany decided to take in a rejected asylum seeker from the Palestinian Territories who was facing deportation. For years, the legality of such an interpretation of church asylum remained unclear. Now, for the first time ever in Germany, there is a final ruling on this kind of case, which could serve as a legal precedent for future trials.