Spanish archbishop raises thorny topics in country’s immigration debate

The archbishop noted in light of the demographic crisis in the Old World how, with “contempt for human dignity,” Europe “rejects immigrants and approves abortion” in such a way that “our demographic winter is fueled while people complain about migrants and reject them.”

The prelate also encouraged “questioning the cultural and political currents that dominate today’s globalism that uses the influx of migrants and reproductive health policies at the service of a moralistic and uniform capitalism that plays with population replacement as a savage form of biopolitics.”

As a fourth and final point of analysis, Argüello said that “it’s time to overcome polarization caused by political interests and jointly address core issues for the common good.”

This task, he explained, must be carried out “by listening to everyone, dialogue, and a pact that ensures respect for human dignity and that works toward the national and global common good.”

What the catechism says about migration

The Catechism of the Catholic Church specifies in No. 2241 the guidelines to be taken into account on the issue of migration.

The first guideline is that ”the more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of a livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.” In addition, “public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.”

The obligation to take in migrants must be met by the civil authorities who, “for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption.”

The Catholic Church teaches that “immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws, and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.