“For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always.”
Matthew 26, 11
&
“For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me [...] After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him.”
Just stepped outside my apartment, started filming for 45 minutes and didn't stop.
*For those who are confused by the point of this video, the point is that France is changing forever due to mass immigration. The people in this video were not speaking French, the women were not wearing their hair in French Braids, they had their head scarves on. When I was driving from the airport I saw people being fed from volunteer aid vans in the Syrian zones and coming up to your cars with signs in Arabic. The posters on the walls and the protesters yelled refugees welcome. Much of what you are looking at is not legal or proper migration and assimilation. France will not be France for long.*
The English translation of Francis latest interview (28 march 2017) with the Italian journal Libertàcivili (Civil Liberties) was published by America: The Jesuit Review under the title of Read: Pope Francis’ new interview on the struggles of migrants and refugees. The main focus of the interview is refugees and the new Vatican department which Francis has created to respond to the refugee situation. The English translation of interview is republished below.
Your Holiness, on July 8, 2013, you made this statement while visiting Lampedusa: “I had to come here to pray,” you said, “to make a gesture of closeness but also to reawaken our consciences.” On April 16, 2016, you repeated this statement in Lesbos, adding your prayers to those of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. How can ecumenical and interreligious dialogue—not only among the three religions of the children of Abraham but also with all the others—contribute to a correct understanding of the problem of migration, with its burden of human suffering, as we look for possible solutions to welcoming those who arrive in Europe?
The visit to Lesbos and the prayers with Archbishop Ieronymos and Patriarch Bartholomew are a sharing of brotherhood, of closeness to the cries of the many innocents who ask only for a chance to save their own lives. Sharing in brotherhood with other religions appeals to our consciences not to turn our backs on the hopes and calls for help of our brothers and sisters in need.
Migration, if handled with humanity, is an opportunity for everyone to meet and grow. We cannot lose our sense of fraternal responsibility. The defense of human beings knows no barriers: We are all united in wanting to ensure a dignified life for every man, woman and child who is forced to abandon his or her own land. There is no difference of creed that can outweigh this wish—in fact, quite the contrary.
It is precisely in these contexts that we can be brothers working toward good—the same good—every day. If the same unity were embraced by those who govern different countries, as well, then maybe we could take some more concrete, global steps in support of migrants and refugees.
The island of Lesbos, like Lampedusa, shows the world the faces of innocent people who flee from wars, violence and persecution. Men, women and children traveling alone arrive tired, exhausted, hoping to save their own lives with dramatic journeys via land and, unfortunately, also via sea.
In Europe and around the world we are living through a critical moment in the management of migration policies. Those in power must be both far-sighted and coherent in watchful respect for fundamental human rights, as well as trying to end to the causes of forced migration which oblige civilians to flee.
The directives of your Motu Proprio (Aug. 17, 2016) for the creation of a new social Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development within the Catholic Church came into effect on January 1. For the social teaching of the church, the dicastery—which takes over the remit of various pastoral councils—is the new organizational destination of a long historical journey. What mission have you entrusted to the new dicastery, with regard to migrants and refugees?
Yes, I set up the Migrants & Refugees Section of the new Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development with a start date of Jan 1. 2017.
The multitude of migrants, refugees, displaced people and victims of human trafficking requires particular care. This is why I decided to take care of them personally, at least for a while, and why the section reports to me directly.
The section’s main mission is supporting the church and its leaders—at the local, regional and international levels—to accompany people through each step of the migration process, with particular attention to those who are forced in different ways to move or flee, or who experience disadvantage and suffering in countries of origin, transit or destination.
I am thinking of all those who flee from conflicts, persecutions or humanitarian emergencies, whether natural or caused by human intervention. I am thinking about victims of human trafficking, about undocumented migrants, about migrant workers in exploitative situations and about women, young people and children migrating in situations of vulnerability.
By their very nature, migrations are phenomena that cut across the borders of individual nations and even continents. In this sense, considering demographic projections for the coming decades, there is talk of a Eurafrican continent—momentous transitions, which call into question cultural identities, values and historical baggage. Different national policies must be tied together with international cooperation: This is a necessity you often mention. Having received much, Europe must learn to give. How do we make the move from awareness to action?
Undoubtedly international cooperation is needed in the management of migration policies, which must be respectful both toward those who welcome and toward those who are welcomed.
Like many other countries that have experienced both immigration and emigration, I think European nations must learn from their past. How difficult things were, in the post-war era, for millions of Europeans who took off, often with their entire families, and crossed the ocean to arrive in South America or the United States!
It was not an easy experience for them, either. They suffered the weight of being seen as foreigners, arriving from afar with no knowledge of the local language. It was not an easy process of integration, but it always ended in success!
Therefore, it is important to be aware of the contributions migrants make to their countries of arrival. Europeans contributed greatly to the growth of transatlantic societies. It is the same story. Any exchange of culture and knowledge is a source of wealth and should be valued as such. As I said on November 1, on the way back from my trip to Sweden, we must not be scared, because Europe was formed from a continuous integration of cultures—of many cultures.
If we can view migrants as an added value to our society, then we will be able to practice real welcome and to give what we have received in the past. We have a lot to learn from the past. It is important to act with awareness, without feeding the fear of foreigners.
On Feb. 21, I explained to participants at the Forum on Migration & Peace that we must promote welcome and hospitality toward refugees and displaced people, supporting their integration and bearing in mind the mutual rights and responsibilities of those who welcome and those who are welcomed. Integration—which is neither assimilation nor incorporation—is a two-way process, essentially based on mutual recognition of another person’s cultural wealth. It is not the flattening of one culture against another, and neither is it mutual isolation, which carries the dangerous, or even deadly, risk of ghettoization. As for those who arrive—who are responsible for not shutting themselves off from the culture and traditions of their host country and for respecting its laws first and foremost—we absolutely must not neglect the familial aspects of integration. Hence why I feel I have to keep reiterating the need for policies which favor and prioritize family reunification.
As far as indigenous people are concerned, they must be helped: They need to be appropriately sensitized and supported to be positively predisposed towards the process of integration, which is not always simple or immediate but is always essential and indispensable for the future. This is why we also need specific programs favoring meaningful encounters with new arrivals.
As for the Christian community, the peaceful integration of people from different cultures is, in some way, a reflection of its Catholicism: a unity which does not override ethnic or cultural diversity constitutes a dimension of church life, which in the Pentecostal spirit is open to all— open to embracing everyone.
On Sept. 22, 2016, during an audience with a delegation of Italian journalists, you called for the development of a true culture of encounter. There is no difficulty, you said, which men of good will cannot overcome. In 1991 the Caritas director in Rome, Msgr. Luigi di Liegro, inaugurated an annual dossier of immigration statistics because, he said, real information on dynamics of migration is the only thing that can defeat all the existing prejudice, clichés and closure. For the sake of truth, how do we keep this debate alive in the context of modern-day communications, so extraordinarily amplified by new media?
Mass media should feel obligated to explain the different aspects of migration, schooling public opinion on the causes of this phenomenon. Human rights violations, violent conflicts of social disorder, lack of essential goods, natural catastrophes and catastrophes caused by humans: All these things should be clearly explained in order to support a real understanding of the migration phenomenon and, consequently, a correct approach.
Often, mass media themselves use negative stereotypes when talking about migrants and refugees. Just think of the unfair use that is often made of terms to describe migrants and refugees. How often do we hear people talk of “illegals” as a synonym for migrants?
This is unfair: It is information based on the wrong premise, which pushes public opinion to develop negative judgments.
Not to mention, of course, the sensationalism favored by most modern-day media. A bad news story has more impact than a good news story, and so it is more profitable to talk about a few crime cases involving migrants than to tell the many stories of integration promoted by migrants themselves.
Better information could break down the barriers of fear and indifference. The other, the different, is scary when it is unknown. But if we talk about it, and introduce it to people’s homes via images and stories, presented in its most positive, human aspects, then knowledge goes beyond stereotypes and the encounter becomes authentic. And when we get past fear, doors are opened, and welcome is spontaneous.
As I said to E.U. heads of state and government on the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, openness towards the world requires a capacity for dialogue as the basis of encounters on all levels—from dialogue between member states, and between institutions and citizens, to dialogue with the many migrants who arrive on E.U. shores. We cannot simply manage the major migration crisis of our times as if it were just a problem of numbers, economy or security. The issue of migration poses a deeper question, which is cultural first and foremost.
The newest piece of propaganda released by the Vatican today is brazen statement of the new world order when one looks at what it is implying. Titled, Welcome the needy, the video starts with the latest video fad, the ‘mannequin challenge’— in which all the actors are frozen as if suspended in time — until it focuses on a white European male who is sitting up against the wall of a building with his few possessions, shaking due to the cold weather. The voice of Francis says, “The result of this situation is that great sections of the population are excluded and marginalized: without a job, without options, without a way out” as this freezing man is shown. From this we assume he in homeless and unemployed. Next we sees the hapless white European male being helped by three people two of whom appear to be from Africa. It’s not a stretch to imagine these blacks from Africa are Moslem. The video speaks to the viewer on several levels.
The first is that Europe and the countries of the world are multicultural which could become utopias, if we would help each other out.
The second message is that black Moslems from North Africa are more compassionate than Europeans and everything would be great if only the white European looked to the wise compassionate African for help.
Thirdly, is the reality of the situation in Europe and much of the world which is 180 degrees opposite of what the video portrays. We will only focus on Europe. The economy is in dire straits due to the Christians in Europe not reproducing. This has led to many including Francis to call for an increase in immigration. They don’t care what the religion, morals, or beliefs of these new immigrants are as long as they come to Europe. The powers that be don’t even care if these new immigrants follow the laws of the countries they arrive in, as to hold them to the laws wouldn’t be compassionate and would be offensive. These new immigrants (Moslem invaders) go onto the dole (to the tune of 99.8%) and get preference from the government over the natives who often get their government assistance cut to nothing. So many new immigrants have arrived that it has financially stressed the countries they have arrived in as well as the infrastructure. These governments then raise the taxes on companies and citizens in their countries which leads to more unemployed and destitute, who now receive zilch from the government because they are not designated with the politically correct moniker of refugees/financial immigrants.
Francis the ‘liberal’ clown sits at his desk with his remedy for Europe, “Pray with me for those who are weighed down, especially the poor, refugees and marginalized, that they might find welcome and support in our communities.” The only thing which will result from Francis’ actions will be the speeding up of the process of the de-Christianization of Europe as it is turned into a hodge podge of pagan religions and noahidism. A better prayer would be that Europe rediscovers the Faith which made it great and begins to practice it once again.
“Europe often forgets that it has been enriched by migrants. Europe is
closing itself up. Europe is lacking creativity. Europe has a falling
birth rate, and problems of high unemployment.”
Moslem ‘refugees’ being taken to their new ‘temporary’ home, of
Chiesa Sant’Antonio alle Gianchette, flash the victory sign.
The town of Ventimiglia in Northern Italy has recently been overwhelmed by Moslem invaders. Originally they were living on church property in Rome but had to move on to Ventimiglia in order to make way for the newest Moslem invaders. Caritas International has decided to house 600 of them in the local church of Sant’Antonio (St. Anthony’s). The Moslem invaders are living in the church, parish hall, and in tents on an outdoor cemented sports area.
For those readers concerned with the Moslem invaders, their rights, and their celebration of Ramadan...have no fear. From the beginning of Ramadan on Sunday, June 5 until its conclusion on the the evening of Tuesday, July 5 the Moslem invaders have been promised exclusive use of the parish hall! This isn’t an abnormal situation as additional invaders are also being housed at the nearby Chiesa San Nicola (St. Nicholas’s Church).
Was Francis being truthful and now Italy is so overwhelmed with refugees there are no longer any empty convents and churches to house these Moslem invaders or was it his intention all along to house the Moslem invaders in active parishes where they displace the native born Italian Catholics? We bet if inquired, Francis would say it was “the god of surprises!”
a video from Sicily in 2014
Click here to watch a video of St. Anthony’s in Ventimiglia last week.
— photos from Ventimiglia —
Parishioners can’t recite the rosary at St. Anthony’s anymore,
for fear of offending the Moslem guests.
Is it a Catholic church or a mosque?
The Italian media is reporting that the Moslem ‘refugees’ are just like us, they like to play football.
