From the editor’s desk

Enrichment by integration

The report by the Von Hügel Institute into the needs of recent Catholic migrants in London throws down a challenge to which the Church must respond. As a result of the accession of Eastern European countries to the European Union and Britain's relatively open-door policy towards them, tens of thousands of mainly young migrants find themselves away from home with only one familiar institution to turn to - the Catholic Church. The majority of these migrants are not here to sponge off the Welfare State or make a nuisance of themselves. Indeed, many  could give the British a lesson in good manners and hard work.

By far the largest group is Polish. The few London parishes that can offer Mass in that language attract a considerable crowd. So Catholicism in England has to be ready to become more culturally diverse, and will be enriched by it. This change has already been experienced as a result of the large number of African Catholics who have settled, at least temporarily, in the capital. There are Catholic schools in the inner city where 30 or 40 mother tongues are spoken.

English Catholicism has a long history of growth through immigration. In the nineteenth century, the stresses and tensions of life in newly settled communities required the Church to develop welfare facilities to cope with migrants' needs. Many of these agencies are now responding to these new challenges; indeed, some have possibly found a new raison d'être.

One of the issues raised by the Von Hügel report concerns integration. It is only in recent generations that the Catholic Church has been emerging from a cultural ghetto, where it was self-sufficient, inward looking and isolated from the rest of society. That process must not be allowed to go into reverse, even if the challenges of operating in an open way in a secular society may sometimes be difficult, as the issue of gay adoption and Catholic childcare agencies vividly illustrated.

Helping these new immigrant communities to integrate must therefore be a priority. And on the same principle of openness, the Church cannot restrict what it does only to the Catholic faithful. It may be mainly Catholics who turn to it, at least at first, but as in the case of adoption agencies and indeed Catholic schools, the price of success is to be sought after by people of many faiths and none. But that will increase the burden on already over-stretched educational and welfare provision. This is not going to be easy for anyone.

Ordinary parishioners can help. Parish priests regularly find themselves struggling to explain British welfare entitlements or employment law and practices to newcomers, often with the additional hazard of language difficulties. Most parishes have members who know their way round such rules and regulations, but it will take organisation to match the problem to its solution. Volunteers can help with the teaching of English. Catholic welfare organisations may also need to be pointed in the right direction, in conjunction with other voluntary and public sector agencies. There is scope here for a London-wide conference to pool resources, discuss priorities and offer leadership. What is mainly London's problem today will certainly spread to the rest of the country in a few years. It makes sense to have a nationwide response, backed by nationwide funding.