Northern Indian dioceses take service to migrants seriously

By Rani Punnaserril

New Delhi, April 6, 2022: Catholic dioceses in northern India have decided to launch a series of steps to help the poor and migrant workers.

To start with, they would launch programs to educate migrants about various government welfare programs as part of the Church’s attempts to bring them economic justice.

The dioceses also stressed the need for each parish to take up the education of the migrants’ children and launch a program to help schoolchildren and youth to overcome their psychological stresses suffered during Covid-19 and lockdowns.

These plans emerged at a seminar on the “Response to Migrants Issues in the present context by the Church and Civil Society Organizations in consonance with Synodality.”

The April 4 seminar was organized by the Commission for Migrants of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India in view of the synodal process now underway in the Universal Church.

The participants were leaders of various organizations, clergy and religious nuns representing the Latin rite dioceses of Jammu and Kashmir, Jalandhar, Meerut and Shimla-Chandigarh along with the archdiocese of Delhi.

The seminar called for coordination among the diocesan commissions for migrants in the region to help the internally displaced people.

According to the participants, the parish is the Church’s primary contact point between migrant communities. At the same parishes should work under the guidance of the diocese instead of working as independent units.

In a major step, the seminar has suggested introducing the issues of migrants in the seminary formation so that future priests could become more sensitive to the needs of the poor and vulnerable communities.

Jesuit moral theologian Father Stanislaus Alla, the keynote speaker, observed that migration has become a global crisis with enormous proportions.

“The Popes, since the start of industries, have been urging that the workers, many who had moved from rural areas to the cities, be treated humanely and be paid ‘family-wages,” said the priest who teaches in Delhi’s Vidyajyoti College of Theology.

Father Stanislaus said migrants are found all over India and the Catholic Church’s ministry to them has become a significant work, especially in the backdrop of the Covid pandemic.

The ministry among the migrants, he added, enables the Church to treat them as subjects, not merely recipients of some help, and engaging them can be turned into a spiritual encounter.

He wants Catholics to see God in each migrant. “Synod on Synodality reminds us of the critical importance of listening, speaking, and learning from each other. In light of this, the Catholics need to speak to the migrants, to know their faith stories, and how they wrestle with God in such trying times,” the Jesuit theologian asserted.

He further told the participants: “Open your eyes and see that there are migrants, here, in your house, in your neighbor’s house or across the street; know that some of them may be Catholics as well; Can you listen to them. Can you welcome them or reach out to them? Their faith stories might amaze you and nourish your faith.”

The ministry among the migrants is more than giving something to someone, it is listening to their faith stories that in turn could “enrich your faith,” he added.

Archbishop Anil J T Couto of Delhi, chairman of the commission for migrants in the northern region who opened the seminar, said the Church could not remain an on looker during Covid and lockdown times. Its effects affected the Church’s conscience leading to greater awareness about the needs of migrants.

“The North Region will work in a better way for the migrants both interstate as well as international. So we have a huge responsibility as we are in the synodal process to bring equilibrium in our dioceses, organizations and institutions,” the prelate asserted.

Delhi has the second largest migrant population after Mumbai.

“Thus our parishes and institutions need to understand the veracity of the issues the migrants face and work hand in hand to help them. Without the migrants Delhi would not have been what it is today,” he added.

The seminar focused on the health issues of migrants and the non-affordability and non-availability of medical assistance.

Doctor Daisy Panna, an epidemiologist with the federal Ministry of Health and secretary of the archdiocesan pastoral council, explained the government programs and policies for women and children. She raised her concern for the poor migrants who are unable to access the benefits as they do not possess the Aadhar Card. “The region is called upon to assist these migrants with necessary documents,” she said.

Nirmal Gorana, an expert in rescuing the bonded laborers, explained how hundreds of such people continue to languish in city houses, brick kilns, and factories. “The Church could save the migrants from illegal agents and traffickers,” asserted Gorana, who collaborates with the migrant commission.

Presentation Sister Elsa Muttathu, national secretary of the Conference of Religious India, called for setting up a helpline for migrants, besides launching a program to upskill and organize the unorganized people and to educate their children.

Lee Macqueen, a socialist inclusion facilitator engaged in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation practitioner, regretted that the minimum wages have become a matter of convenience in many places. She asked whether the Church too treats the wage as a matter of convenience or matter of concern.

Father Jaison Vadassery, the commission’s executive secretary, expressed his concern over the inadequacies, joblessness, and human trafficking that the migrants face.

He stressed the Church’s responsibility in caring for the migrants as shown by Pope Francis. He said the migrants look for an inclusive Church. He urged the diocesan labor commission secretaries to look into the synodal process seriously and embrace migrants with a listening ear and a welcoming heart.