A hopeful gaze on the migration reality

Montserrat Valdivia

Assistant for Latin America

During the week of 14-17 July, the World Women's Observatory (WWO) of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO) attended the annual meeting of migrant houses in central Mexico, in the state of Querétaro.

The aim of this meeting was to provide a space for fraternal encounter between pastoral agents from the central zone of the Episcopal Dimension of Human Mobility Pastoral Care (DEPMH), to strengthen communion and synodal work, to renew our hopeful outlook on the reality of migration from the perspective of faith; jointly analyse the challenges faced today by migrants in a context of growing uncertainty and exclusion; and discern, in the light of the Gospel, concrete ways that will impel us to build and bear witness to hope as a shared mission.

During this day, analyses of the migratory context in Central America, North America, and Latin America were conducted through dialogues and presentations by experts, in order to understand the situation in each region. There was also group work, through conversations in the Spirit and meetings where topics such as the challenges and repercussions of the current context on the personal lives of pastoral agents, their teams, and their practices were addressed in the light of collective reflection.

Two visits were made to shelters in the state of Querétaro, the first to the shelter run by the Marist Migrant Support Centre (CAMMI), also known as CAMMI CASA. This is a space where the priority is to generate formative accompaniment processes Training support processes that provide children, adolescents, and their families with tools to strengthen their knowledge in academics, work, and personal matters.

Its objectives are:

• To be a safe and dignified space for accompanying refugee children, adolescents and their families.

• To provide them with tools for their legal, educational, social and cultural integration, among others.

• To carry out actions with civil society and authorities that create dignified and hospitable conditions in the city for refugees.

The second visit was to the Toribio Romo shelter, a non-profit non-governmental organisation founded in 2015 to meet the need in the city of Querétaro to shelter hundreds of migrants passing through the town. It supports migrant brothers and sisters, fights for them to be treated with dignity so that their rights are respected, and provides accommodation, food and first aid services. At the latter, a Mass was held in the presence of the Bishop of the Diocese of Querétaro, Fidencio López Plaza, followed by a gathering with members of the community.

Before the end of the day, discussions were held on the DEPMH team's pastoral strategic lines for the next three years, based on the work done in previous sessions.

Finally, Monsignor Eugenio Andrés Lira Rugarcía, head of the Episcopal Dimension of Human Mobility Pastoral Care at the Mexican Episcopal Conference, visited us to share a message of hope and support. He encouraged us to continue our work, drawing on our different charisms and experiences, and emphasized that every action, no matter how small, contributes to the cause.