By Anthony Barich
A TEAM has been formed to educate and encourage parishes and schools to welcome and integrate migrants into their communities.
The Perth Archdiocesan Episcopal Vicar for Migration, Fr Blasco Fonseca and seven others representing the migrant chaplains, the main bodies involved in migrant/refugee pastoral care and research on issues of migrant/refugee pastoral care, prepared a document presented to an October 2009 conference in Sydney hosted by the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office. The conference, called Graced by migration, discussed issues of pastoral care of migrants and refugees throughout the Church in Australia.
The conference recommended a National Pastoral Plan for migrants, and that dioceses prepare their own plan for the pastoral care of migrants. Every Sunday throughout Australia it is estimated that Mass is celebrated in 35 different languages, according to Robert Dixon’s The Catholics in Australia (Australian Government Publications, 1996).
The Australian Catholic Bishops Council’s Pastoral Projects Office has calculated from the 2006 Census that among the Catholic population of the Archdiocese of Perth the five birthplaces with the highest proportion of recent arrivals are South Korea, other Middle Eastern and North African countries, North America, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Many of Perth’s recent Catholic arrivals also include Burmese and people from sub-Saharan Africa. The Archdiocese’s priesthood also reflects this ethnic and linguistic diversity.
“However, there is still much that needs to be done in order to welcome, integrate and utilise skills and attributes of especially the more recently arrived migrants and refugees with which the Church and WA have been blessed,” Dr Woodward said.
Perth’s paper presented at the conference came up with two broad priorities – education of Catholics about hospitality and the needs of migrants and refugees, and action to encourage parishes and schools to be more involved in activities of welcome to migrants, refugees and other strangers within their parish and district.
Following a discussion between Fr Fonseca and Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey, a Migrant/Refugee Pastoral Care Team was formed which first met in February. It consists of Fr Fonseca, Sr Margaret Culhane, Christian Brother Jeff Seaman, who runs a St Vincent de Paul programme for the settlement of refugees, Dr Judith Woodard, former lecturer in history who just completed a doctoral thesis on the pastoral care of migrants in Australia, Christine Freby Sidi and Gaston Kurubone.
After sending parishes a questionnaire, the Team has built up a profile of the demographic composition of each parish, gauging what activities the parishes are already undertaking in regards to “the stranger within its midst”.
Priorities of a pastoral plan for the Archdiocese – especially in relation to Migrant and Refugee Sunday in August – will be discussed by 15 representatives from various parishes at a 10 July meeting at the Catholic Education Office in Leederville.
The Team carried out part of the education part of its strategic plan in May-June with a series of Wednesday evening presentations by Dr Woodward on “The Stranger In Our Midst – the Church’s Outreach to Migrants and Refugees” at the Maranatha Centre of Adult Formation in Doubleview.
Dr Woodward said the response to this was so encouraging it is anticipated that the topic will be presented again at Maranatha next year during the day. The course, which covers hospitality in relation to migrants and refugees could also be presented in particular parishes should this be desired.
Fr Fonseca has also been working with several migrant chaplains, especially those engaged in pastoral care to foreign students at Perth’s tertiary institutions. Deacon Greg Lowe, manager of the Intensive English Centre at Aranmore College, which is understood to be the only college that has such a centre – has also been working with Fr Fonseca to prepare chaplaincies in tertiary institutions for Migrant and Refugee Sunday.For more information, contact Fr Fonseca on 08 9438 3704 or email blasco@perthcatholic.org.au. Dr Woodward can be contacted on woodward@it.net.au.