In light of the massive refugee crisis in Europe, Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will give temporary housing in the Vatican to at least two refugee families and asked that every European parish, monastery, and shrine to do the same. [2]On September 18, 2015, the Vatican had chosen a family of four from Syria to be housed at St. Anne's parish. [3]
This blogger confesses that he did not believe that the pope would actually make good on his promise and is surprised and happy that he did even though the gesture is merely symbolic and in his opinion, merely for show. What continues to trouble this blogger is the temporariness of the housing arrangement for this family.
When does this temporary period end? If it is only temporary, then when will they be kicked out? When they are asked to leave, where would the Vatican send them?
Given that these four members of the refugee family are not illegal immigrants wanting better economic opportunities but what if they, like the many millions of illegal aliens that have taken up residence illegally in another country, want to stay and demand they be afforded their legal rights and health benefits? What will this pope do? Perhaps he ought to replay on video his lecture to the United States Congress to remind him of his own words [4], [5]:
In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom. We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants. Tragically, the rights of those who were here long before us were not always respected. For those peoples and their nations, from the heart of American democracy, I wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation. Those first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present. Nonetheless, when the stranger in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat the sins and the errors of the past. We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible, as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our “neighbors” and everything around us. Building a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a constant effort to do our best. I am confident that we can do this.
Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War. This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions. On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children? We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12).Perhaps what this pope ought to also keep in mind are these words of Jesus (referring to the legal scholars and the Pharisees) and ask himself if his symbolic gesture will save him: "They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders [6], but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." [7] And "[w]oe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." [8]
[1] http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/09/06/pope-opens-the-vatican-to-refugees-calls-on-europes-churches-to-follow-suit/
[2] Ibid., accessed October 19, 2015.
[3] http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/09/18/vatican-welcomes-its-first-family-of-refugees-following-popes-appeal/
[4] http://abcnewsradioonline.com/politics-news/pope-francis-gives-historic-speech-to-congress.html
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBM7DIeMsP0
[6] In this case, the burden is being placed on the shoulders of the custodians of St. Anne's parish. Certainly, this pope is not going to take care of this refugee family personally. He simply delegated his well-intentioned work to others, most likely without the least bit of guilt.
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23%3A4&version=NIV
[8] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23%3A25&version=NIV
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