The History of the Right to Stay and the Right to Migrate in Catholic Social Teaching

In this Catholic Social Teaching conference segment, Antônio Lemos, S.T.L., explores the development of the rights to stay and to migrate. From the letters of St. Cyprian and the theology of the Church Fathers, through papal encyclicals and 20th-century teachings, this presentation shows how these principles of dignity and solidarity became central to Catholic Social Teaching on migration.

March 24, 2025

Introduction

In this presentation I want to briefly touch on two moments of the history of the right to stay and the right to migrate in the Catholic social tradition. First, I will discuss some early references to these rights in pre-modern Catholic theology. Then, I will address the development of these rights in 20th century Catholic Social Teaching.

Pre-modern History of the rights to migrate and stay in CST

 There is a long tradition in Christian theology and legal thought on caring for migrants. The most ancient instances of the Church teaching on migration, outside the biblical texts, are the teachings of the church fathers on poverty and wealth.

A more direct reference to migration can be found in the letters of St Cyprian of Carthage in the 3rd century. In a letter to Christians from a different city, he said “If the church over there is unable to provide the afflicted with nourishment, they can move to us in order that they may receive food and clothing here”^[1].

And in another letter, Cyprian writes that  “Please, take diligent care of the infirm and all the poor. And if some of the travelers should be in need, you may obtain what you need from my personal funds. Out of fear that they might have been fully spent already, I have sent another sum, in order that the effort for the suffering might take place with greater generosity as well as more promptly.”^[2]

Later, other church fathers argued for the theological principle of the universal destination of goods, meaning that God created the earth for the flourishing of all human beings, independent of nationality, religion, race. This principle is drawn from a theology of creation developed by the church fathers in the 4th century, such as St Ambrose, St Basil  and St Chrysostom. They believe that individuals who have more resources have an obligation to support those in need. At times not attending to this duty is compared by them as an injustice so grave as homicide or theft.

Next, The second council of Tours, which happened in the year 6th century, makes an early reference to the right to stay by saying: “Each and every city should provide its poor and needy inhabitants with sufficient nourishment in accordance with its own ability. Both priests and citizens should take care of feeding the poor in their own region. In this manner, the poor will not have to engage in tiresome traveling and dwell in foreign cities.”

Another reference in the 6th century is a decree in Justinian’s civil law code, in which the emperor nominates a public official to deal with the migrants that arrive at the royal capital of Constantinople. The official is supposed to make sure that outsiders are employed. Individuals who refuse employment or engage in criminal activity should be expelled from the city. Those who cannot work, such as elderly and the sick, are to be provided for and treated humanely. The decree implicitly acknowledges the possibility of welcoming economic migrants, providing work for them, and support for those who cannot work.

Another legal document that refers to the care of migrants is the decretum of Gratian, a compilation of the Church’s canon law of the 12th century. In a part of text dealing with the requirements for the holy orders, one of the requirements is that bishops and priests must be hospitable, since they must give example to their congregations and encourage them to show hospitality to strangers and travelers. Welcoming strangers was deemed so crucial that it became a legal requirement for priestly ordination.

Both Justinian’s code and Gratian’s decretum were very influential in shaping the concept of law, justice, and rights, in the work of scholastic theologians, such as in Thomas Aquinas and later in the early modern theologians of the school of Salamanca. I believe that specially the teachings of these Spanish theologians of Salamanca provide the strongest evidence of the Catholic Church’s ethical stance on migration. Dominican theologians Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto were the main representatives of this school in the 1500s. They used the concept of right to travel and dwell to address the mass migration crisis of their time. They argued for the care of migrants using legal argument and theological grounding based on scripture and tradition. This right of migration was rooted on the theological principles of universal destination of goods, hospitality, the Lord’s command to preach the gospel, and the unity of all humans in the body of Christ. Although they argued for a generous care for migrants, they did admit the possibility of regulation of migration in case of crime or harm for the host community. What makes them special in my opinion is that they are the first theologians to address the problem of whether people have a right to cross international borders.

In sum, I believe that these historical witnesses show the importance of care for migrants and provide a compelling argument for Christian of all denominations and political affiliations.

Modern development of the rights to migrate and stay in CST

Now, let us examine the modern history of the right to migrate and stay in CST. It is possible to identify three main theological foundations for the right to stay and the right to migrate that can be discerned in the three distinct stages of development of these rights. The first stage is marked by the condemnation of forced migration in Pope Leo’s writings, starting with the papal encyclical on the situation of Italian immigrants in America Quam Aerumnosa (“How sad”). At this early stage, what drew the Church’s attention to migration was its concern for the state of the migrants’ moral and spiritual welfare, which tended to suffer once these individuals were separated from their homeland. The salvation of souls is the theological ground for this period. The right to stay is not explicitly formulated at this point, but the roots that will motivate its later formulation are present in the critiques of the pope against the problems of forced migration. Moreover, in this initial stage, the concern is geared mostly toward the situation of Catholic migrants and not every migrant.

Next, there is a second period in which the right to migrate is explicitly promoted by Pius XII for the first time, while the negative consequences and causes of migration remain in the background, meaning that the right to stay is still not articulated explicitly, but it can be understood in the context of the critique to forced migration. In this stage the principle of universal destination of goods is raised as the theological foundation for the right to migrate, but it can also be applied to the right to stay.

Finally, there is a third stage in which the right to stay is explicitly formulated by John XXIII and John Paul II. Together with the previous theological grounds, the dignity of the human person is at the core of the popes’ concern for both the right to stay and the right to migrate. At this stage, there is a concern for the situation of all migrants, not just Catholics. In sum, the three main theological principles that sustain the right to stay and the right to migrate in CST in the 20th century are the 1 — salvation of souls, 2 — universal destination of goods, and 3 — dignity of the human person.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the right to stay and the right to migrate are present throughout the history of the church and have emerged as a fundamental principle in modern Catholic social teaching. It is rooted in the condemnation of forced migration and its devastating consequences. The explicit formulation of the right to stay, although coming later, has gained significant importance over the years. It emphasizes the responsibility of states and intermediary societies to provide essential resources for human well-being, in order to prevent displacement and allow people to freely choose whether to stay in their homeland or migrate.

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^[1] Cyprian, Epistulae, I, ep. 10. Ed. note: ep. II.2, 3. C. Bayard, ed., Saint Cyprien, Correspondance: Texte établi par le Chanoine Bayard (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1925),

^[2] Cyprian, Epistulae, ep. 24. Ed. note: ep. VII.2. Bayard, Saint Cyprien, Correspondance, 18.