Report on immigration: world religious should help to overcome cultural differences

Rome, Italy, Oct 27, 2005 / 22:00 pm

During the presentation of a report on “Immigration and Globalization,” the President of Caritas Italy, Archbishop Francesco Montenegro, said religious communities should help immigrants overcome possible cultural differences in the countries where they settle.

“The different religions should not divide but rather they should help people to overcome the eventual cultural counter positions and neutralize the disintegrating force of ideologies,” the archbishop said, speaking of the new geography of the world’s religions.

The 2005 Caritas Report on Immigration Statistics notes that the flow of immigrants is a part of the globalization process that calls for the creation of an society open to the co-existence of various cultures in the countries of destination. 

The European Commissioner of Justice and Freedom, Franco Frattini, underscored that the report brings out “the notable influence immigrants have in all sectors of public and economic life” in Europe.

In the case of Italy, the report notes that out of every 10 immigrants, 4 our Romanian.  Significant numbers of immigrants are also coming from Albania, Morocco and Poland.  Close to half of the immigrants are Christian (20.3% Orthodox, 22.6% Catholic), while Muslims make up 33%, Jews .3% and those who practice Eastern religions 4.3%.