Put Yourself in Their Place ...

The Bishopric of Tenerife, this week, asked catholics to put themselves in the place of the immigrants, "those who risk making the journey towards the north, trying to understand their rights and their reasons, without defending what appears to them as our privileged position and, that we see being threatened." The note has been made public against the "constant arrival to our coasts of so many people from the African continent and the death of so many more in their attempts to reach them."

The Bishopric of Tenerife considers that we need to be creative when looking for and offering possibilities and, to open up opportunities to share the gaps that already exist, in the Canary Islands, as well as the the rest of the State and in Europe, "taking in, integrating and making a dignified life possible for those who come."

The Bishopric also had words to say about the scarcity of the world's natural resources and propose that we need to change out style of life, consuming less, in a more responsible manner, sharing goods with solidarity and being conscious that the real solution to this situation, in the medium and long term, is a change in the rules of global commerce.

Interestingly and, I for one am glad they have issued this note given the amount of friction this issue is causing among the local population, they quote Exodus 22, "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt." and go on to underline that the social doctrine of the church is clear and forceful in this sense, in that it "defends the rights of all people to have conditions to live in dignity in their own country, without having to emigrate and, also, the right to emigrate."

Obispado Tenerife pide ponerse en el lugar de los emigrantes

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