Review article
The Globalisation of Migration and the Prophetism of Pope Francis
Stjepan Brebrić
orcid.org/0000-0003-2368-1067
; Kršćanska sadašnjost, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The current global phenomenon of migration at the beginning of the third millennium is gaining such a momentum that it would be justifiable to talk about the globalisation of migration. For many local political communities, societies, and cultures refugees and migrants are a challenge that they often cannot or do not know how to deal with in a proper way. Christian and other religious communities are also not doing much better when it comes to this issue, while the international political community has not offered so far concrete solutions that would address the issue adequately and integrally. Therefore, contemporary migrations are usually addressed as the current migration crisis. From the beginning of his pontificate Pope Francis has been deeply moved by the tragedy that besets refugees and migrants and that is seemingly ignored by individuals and communities. He has raised his prophetic voice and followed it by significant gestures and concrete proposals on how to overcome this crisis situation, whose causes he detected in the deep anthropological crisis, systematically and programmatically. His prophetic interpretation of contemporary migrations through the conciliar category of signs of the times aims at a transformation of the mentality of people and a replacement of the paradigm of decadent humanism with the paradigm of integral and solidary humanism of the future, compatible with Christianity. While noticing positive aspects of the globalisation of migration, Pope Francis has encouraged everyone to accept and actively participate in this historical chance of globalisation of brotherhood, solidarity, and love. The aforementioned is the general framework of theological-pastoral analyses of individual topics through which this contribution is detecting prophetic characteristics of the pontificate of Pope Francis in relation to the phenomenon of contemporary migrations.
Keywords
prophetism of Pope Francis; migrants; refugees; globalisation of migration; globalisation of love; general pastoral care; pastoral-humanitarian strategy
Hrčak ID:
218170
URI
Publication date:
26.3.2019.
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