It is a blessing and source of enrichment to live in another country and get to love the people and their culture while still treasuring the good things from one’s own culture. Occasionally, though, there are moments of suffering and confusion caused by what is happening in one’s own country.
At present I am living in Bucharest, Romania and in recent weeks I have been saddened and distressed reading about the situation of the migrants in Calais. In our community in Bucharest we have a sister from Italy, so I am very aware of how the Italians have welcomed and tried to cope with thousands of refugees, arriving every day along their coastline, for several years. In contrast I feel shame and embarrassment at hearing the determination on the part of some in the UK to keep the migrants out at all cost.
Yesterday in our community prayer we reflected on a passage from the Pope’s letter for the Jubilee Year of Mercy where he stressed that in the parables of mercy we find the core of the Gospel and “mercy is presented as a force that overcomes everything”! (Misericordiae Vultus par. 9) I pray that in our personal lives and in our political decisions we may experience the power of this force of mercy that overcomes everything and helps us to see solutions which before we couldn’t see. I was consoled to see a news report about the small protest organised in Folkstone on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Calais who are desperate for their basic human rights and I feel sure that there is a wave of mercy waiting to be released in the hearts of many in the UK. Perhaps Pope Francis should have the last word: “May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already in our midst”. (Misericordiae Vultus par. 5).
Ruth Casey FCJ, Bucharest, Romania
The problem behind the migrant crisis is one of numbers. The population of Africa and the wider Middle East from Palestine to Pakistan is forecast to increase by one thousand million people every 25 years for the foreseeable future. For this reason, it is likely that many more people will try to come to Europe than the numbers we see at present.
Gerald Danaher, Ravenstone, Leicestershire
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