Catholic Teaching on Migration from a Global Perspective

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In this Catholic Social Teaching conference segment, Cardinal Fabio Baggio, C.S., explores the Church’s global teaching on migration, focusing on Pope Francis’ magisterium. From saving lives and safeguarding dignity to addressing root causes of displacement, his reflection highlights how Catholic Social Teaching calls us to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrants worldwide.

March 24, 2025

Holy Mother Church, impelled by her ardent love of souls has striven to fulfil the duties inherent in her mandate of salvation for all mankind, a mandate entrusted to her by Christ. She has been especially careful to provide all possible spiritual care for pilgrims, aliens, exiles and migrants of every kind. This work has been carried out chiefly by priests who, in administering the Sacraments and preaching the Word of God, have labored zealously to strengthen the Faith of the Christians in the bond of charity. (Pius XII, 1952:5)

The text above is a quotation from the introduction of the Apostolic Constitution Exsul Familia Nazarethana issued by Pius XII in 1952. Considered as the magna carta of the pastoral care of migrants, this document summarizes and integrates the various strands of reflection of the Catholic Church on human mobility in earlier centuries.

Since 1952, the Catholic Church has been developing a consistent and ever broader teaching on migration from her global perspective. Through a long series of official documents, messages, and speeches, popes and Vatican Dicasteries have formulated assessments, expressed concerns, highlighted principles, and recommended pastoral actions aimed at catering to all people on the move, particularly to those in vulnerable situations.

In this contribution, I intend to focus on the magisterium of Pope Francis, who was able to collect and treasure what was produced by his predecessors and their close collaborators in terms of reading and interpreting the migration phenomenon and recommending pastoral action. Human mobility in the third millennium presents old and new challenges that must be considered within a global scenario marked by a real “change of era” (Francis, 2019a).

Emerging Challenges

Today’s migrations, in their various forms, directly affect a significant portion of humanity and pose a series of challenges to the Catholic Church as well to all societies. Some of these challenges are particularly pressing and worthy of particular consideration. They can be arranged in three different time frames: short, medium and long term. These times, however, refer to the when of the changes produced by the responses, and not to the implementation of the latter, since it is necessary to act immediately in all three areas.

The images and stories, which describe the “journeys of hope” along the different migratory routes, are often dramatic. Abuse, deception, exploitation, violence, kidnappings, blackmail, and torture have become so frequent that they are now considered characteristic features of the migration experiences of the third millennium. Too many of these experiences end in the death of migrants: rivers, seas, mountains and deserts on every continent have become large cemeteries, often denying family members the comfort of burying their loved ones.

In this context, the first short-term challenge is to save lives. Since his visit to Lampedusa in July 2013, Pope Francis has not ceased to denounce the unacceptable indifference and embarrassing silence in the face of the many tragedies affecting migrants and refugees.

The second challenge is to safeguard the dignity of migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons and victims of trafficking. These are too often reduced to numbers; they are used as a bargaining chip – or blackmail – for economic or political interest; they are stripped of their dignity on the basis of legal non-compliance.

As far as the medium term is concerned, a first emerging challenge is that of an essentially negative narrative about migrants and refugees. Migration «has often been misrepresented and exploited for political gain … creating false and negative perceptions of migrants that feed into a narrative of xenophobia, intolerance and racism» (Guterres, 2018). Pope Francis has urged the media to break down stereotypes and offer truthful reporting that highlights the honesty and goodness of the majority.

The second challenge is closely linked: fear within receiving communities. Many fear society will become less secure, that identity and culture will be lost, that competition for jobs will intensify. Pope Francis warns that such fear, often unfounded, risks closing hearts and communities to the stranger.

The third challenge is that most migration flows today are forced, caused by conflict, disasters, persecution, climate change, and extreme poverty. Pope Francis has summarized the Church’s response in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote, and integrate.

Another challenge is the tendency of states to treat migration solely as a matter of national competence. Pope Francis has stressed that migration is a global issue requiring shared responsibility and international cooperation.

For the long term, the Church highlights the need to eradicate root causes: economic disparity, exploitation of resources, corruption, poverty, insecurity, armed conflicts, persecution, and climate change.

Finally, the Holy Father warns against radical individualism and the throwaway culture, which diminish human dignity and undermine solidarity. These cultural forces make it easier to disregard migrants and refugees, treating them as expendable “others.”

Further Reflections

These migration challenges must be seen in a wider context. Fragmented and compartmentalized political systems fail to respond to migration and development in a coherent way. The Global Compact on Migration (2018) stresses the need for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

Pope Francis consistently connects the migration crisis to deeper global problems: unbridled consumerism, inequality, and nationalism. He stresses that radical individualism erodes the collective dimension of human life, which is essential to God’s design.

Conclusion

The challenges of today’s world, including migration, must be interpreted as opportunities for growth and for building a more fraternal and inclusive society. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the fragility of our systems but also offered the possibility to “reset” in hope.

Quoting Pope Francis’ Message for the 107th World Day of Migrants and Refugees:

“We are called to dream together, fearlessly, as a single human family, as companions on the same journey, as sons and daughters of the same earth that is our common home, sisters and brothers all.”