The Church and the problem of borders. Part 1. The Position of Catholic bishops in the migration crises of 2015–2022

Abstract

The need to control and defend one’s borders is a condition for the survival of any organic system, including politically organized societies. Catholicism, as a universal­ist religion that has returned to its apolitical roots following the Second Vatican Council, has increasingly addressed the issue of borders from the perspective of moralism and pac­ifism. This creates a dilemma of loyalty for bishops serving within a community whose borders are contested. The two migration crises that began in 2015 and 2021 will serve as a natural experiment to analyze their attitudes towards this dilemma.