Dante's humanism, still current and relevant todayThe Eucharist at the center. From Ireland to Ecuador, the devotion always alive.The eight snapshots of Francis' pontificate"The connection between environmental fragility, food insecurity and migratory movements is evident." It was Pope Francis who sounded the alarm in a speech to the FAO in 2019, regarding the climate crisis that has long affected fundamental human rights (life, water, food, shelter and health) especially of the poorest and most vulnerable.
This is a question of moral significance that cannot leave the Church indifferent, and she has also asked herself about the pastoral consequences of this situation. This is the objective behind the Pastoral Guidelines on Climate Displacement, presented in recent days at a press conference at the Vatican and prepared by the Migrants and Refugees Section - Integral Ecology Sector of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development.
51 million displaced people in the world
According to available data, more than 33 million people were displaced during 2019 alone, for a total of nearly 51 million displaced worldwide; 25 of these are due to natural disasters (floods, storms, droughts, fires, desertification, depletion of natural resources, water shortages, rising temperatures and sea levels).
In many cases, the climate crisis is also a factor in conflicts and wars, so the threats often multiply, and it is always primarily the weakest who suffer.
Projections for the future are not encouraging. According to a World Bank report, it is estimated that by 2050 some 3% of the world's population could be forced to migrate within their own countries due to climate change. This would mainly affect sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America.
Accompaniment and sensitization
Faced with this "panorama", the Church intends, on the one hand, to continue to assist and accompany people, but also to sensitize them to the adoption of sustainable economic policies that prefer "nature-based solutions" that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the cause of the increase in the Earth's average temperature and, therefore, the basis of "alterations in human and natural systems".
For this reason, the Pastoral Guidelines on Climate Displaced Persons aim, first of all, to raise awareness of the phenomenon, trying to overcome the widespread "blindness" which, in many cases, is also a sign of indifference and selfishness, not to mention "the intentional denial of reality in order to protect vested interests". The answer in this case is to try to overcome the "false polarization between care for creation, on the one hand, and development and the economy, on the other."
Alternatives to displacement
Another aspect to be addressed, according to the Guidelines, is to offer alternatives to displacement. But this is up to governments, leaders and institutions in charge of the interests of the populations, showing them that there are "creative and sustainable solutions to alleviate the suffering and alternatives to the trauma of displacement."
Provide valid and certified information
However, when displacement is inevitable, it is good that people do not fall into "a fatalistic acceptance of a hopeless journey". The Church, for its part, is called upon in this case to provide "correct and reliable information" and to put the soon-to-be displaced in contact with international organizations and agencies that can provide them with support, collaboration and solidarity networks.
Host training and sensitization
As for the host societies, they must be involved and encouraged to be "willing and eager to extend their solidarity to climate displaced persons". In this regard, fear, indifference and the risks of xenophobia that may exist in the host community must also be addressed, for example by focusing on training and through awareness campaigns, organizing safe housing, providing social and legal assistance and investing in projects that create jobs and small businesses, for true inclusion.
The Holy See document considers that it is also useful to involve these vulnerable people in the decision-making processes of States, so that they are not "invisible" and can enjoy full humanitarian assistance, as well as participate in relocation and resettlement policies and programs.
Pastoral integration
From the pastoral point of view, this requires an awareness of having to respond to the different needs of both Catholic believers and those belonging to other religions. Pastoral programs should therefore integrate "humanitarian assistance, education for reconciliation, effective protection of rights and dignity, prayer and liturgy, as well as spiritual and psychological support," the Guidelines state.
Promotion of academic research
Finally, the indications of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development point to the desire for greater cooperation in strategic planning and action in collaboration with various organizations, both nationally and regionally; the promotion of professional training in integral ecology; and the promotion of academic research, especially in Pontifical Universities, on the climate crisis and displacement.
In the Preface to the Document, Pope Francis hopes that everyone will be able to "see" the tragedy of the prolonged uprooting of millions of people and be concerned about it, acting collectively. Indeed, as in the pandemic crisis we are experiencing, we will not emerge from it "by locking ourselves up in individualism" but "through encounter, dialogue and collaboration".
Aware that even in this area there is a great need to do things, and to do them together.
