The responsibility of Christians to welcome migrants and to address \u201cthe new forms of poverty and fragility\u201d migrants experience and in which they \u201care called to see the suffering Christ,\u201d was the focus of a daylong conference in Montreal, Canada, in late March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Theologians, ecumenists, clergy and pastoral workers from Canada, France and Italy gathered on 24 March to discuss the theme, \u201cImmigration and Social Integration: Practices for Welcoming, Human Solidarity and Living Together.\u201d CNEWA\u2019s national director in Canada, Dr. Adriana Bara, an ecumenist and theologian, participated in the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Held in French, the conference was organized by Universit\u00e9 Laval, in collaboration with CNEWA Canada, the Canadian Centre for Ecumenism, Montreal Diocesan Theological College at McGill University and a Montreal institute dedicated to the study and research of interculturality, migration and mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Bible speaks of the necessary responsibility and the intrinsically religious character of welcoming the stranger and the destitute. Christian morality extolls an unconditional welcome of strangers,\u201d the conference problem statement reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, contemporary migration issues are \u201ca major challenge\u201d for churches and host societies, requiring churches to engage in interreligious dialogue and to have pastoral responses that are \u201copen to these new realities,\u201d the statement acknowledges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These challenges \u201crequire churches and believers to rethink their way of being, of acting, of celebrating and of organizing,\u201d the statement continues, citing the conference objective of initiating theological reflections to assist with these challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Bara led a panel on the theme, \u201cEthical and Theological Issues in the Context of Migration.\u201d She also delivered a presentation that gave witness to the commitment of Catholic Near East Welfare Association to its work with migrants titled, \u201cSolidarity, Welcome and the Integration of Vulnerable Peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor nearly 100 years CNEWA has walked side by side with those in need. We have prayed with them when they were attacked, comforted them when they grieved, fed them when they hungered, bandaged them when they bled, sheltered them when they had no place to call home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have been there, always, through the arms of the living body of Christ, the church, as they live for others, counseling the despondent, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, teaching the eager and forming the next generation of leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CNEWA\u2019s involvement in the conference was the result of a presentation she gave before the Canadian House of Commons\u2019 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in Ottawa on 14 February on the role of CNEWA in the humanitarian crisis that resulted from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria earlier that month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n