Transnationalism and Catholicism: Introduction
Transnationalism concerns the multi-stranded and cross-border ties of individuals, groups and organizations and their sometimes simultaneous engagement across the borders of national states (Faist et al. 2013, 7). Most religious institutions and the religious movements that grew out of them exhibit dynamism due to their transnational character. In fact, it has been argued that in todayâs post-modern age, religious communities have become vital agents in the creation of transnational civil society (Rudolph 1997; Menjivar 1999). This is particularly true in the context of migration where religious participation facilitates the formation and maintenance of transnational ties (Portes et al. 2007).
The Catholic Church is the single largest international religious organization in the world and is arguably the oldest globalized institution on earth. As can be seen in its history, its global character and hierarchical as well as international structures it is well-positioned to engage in multi-stranded and cross-border ties. Its hundreds of religious orders, which have members and missions scattered across the planet, have been heralds of a globalized world for centuries.
While Catholic transnationalism in the context of migration is not new, there are differences that characterize contemporary Catholic migrantsâ transnational religious lives as new communication and transportation technologies as well as greater recognition of migrantsâ rights and social capital in sending and receiving countries permit more frequent and intimate connections between those who move and those who remain behind. What is new, therefore, is the high intensity of exchanges, the new modes of transacting business or maintaining relationships, and the multiplication of activities that require cross-border travel and contact on a sustained basis. Venezuelan Catholics in Houston, for example, have organized a virtual ministry whereby they form intentional small faith communities that are regularly linked by the internet to the Church in Venezuela. Catholics of Mexican descent in the USA, meanwhile, create links to their homeland by annual visits back home or by the yearly visits to the USA by the parish priest, local bishop, or religious image of devotion from their hometown or region. Deck (2013, 58) maintains that these activities would have been impossible twenty-five years ago.
Catholic Transnationalism in the Context of Migration
Migrants sustain multiple identities, loyalties and affiliations with people, causes and traditions outside the nation-state of residence. They maintain ties with people and institutions in the countries they left hence they are described as transnationals or âpeople with feet in two societiesâ. Transnationalism among migrants, however, does not only concern networks and exchanges of goods but also transnational religious practices that involve the transformation of identity, community and ritual practices.
As early as 1978 Smith argued that immigration itself is often a âtheologizing experienceâ because religion provides an ethical slant and the resources that nourish the immigrantsâ outlook as they react to the confusion and alienation that result from their uprooting. Not surprisingly, Levitt (2001a, 9) writes of how studies of transnational religion âshould take theology seriouslyâ to more clearly explain processes involved in transnational religious practices. It is to these Catholic transnational practices in the context of migration and their theological underpinnings that this essay now turns.
Ecclesiological: Church Structures, Processes and Teachings
Transnationalism within Catholicism in the context of migration takes place, first and foremost, at the institutional (church) level and can, therefore, be understood from an ecclesiological perspective.1 The Catholic Church is no stranger to transnationalism. From the mid-1800s to the present it has a vast interconnected network of activities throughout the world through its religious congregations, missionary activities, schools, hospitals, pilgrimage shrines, international events and so on. Indeed, the Catholic Churchâs impressive network of institutional, material and human resources, with the structural power that could rival that of states, is perhaps one of the most fundamentally transnational organizations (Menjivar 1999, 598). Nowhere is this transnationalism most starkly expressed in the age of globalization than in the movement of Catholics, especially from the Global South, and in the Catholic Churchâs response to people on the move, especially Catholics. A comparative study of Vietnamese Catholic and Buddhist religious Networks in Houston, Texas offers a glimpse of this. Ebaugh points out:
The other notable feature in this case is the larger number of transnational ties among Catholics than among their Buddhist counterparts, especially those linking institutions in Houston and Vietnam to one another. Vietnamese Catholic institutions in Houston can and have called upon the resources of the huge international organization in which they are embedded (the Catholic Church) to expedite the development of their own parishes. Therefore, they are more likely to have more resources available to provide to their overseas overseas brethren. (Ebaugh 2004, 223)
Johnson (2014) meanwhile, cites the flowering of the Charismatic movement among immigrant Catholics as a prime example of the transnational flow of ideas, practices and resources within the Catholic Church. Johnson writes:
Although the Catholic Charismatic Renewal originated with American college students in the 1960s much of the energy behind immigrant spiritual renewal has come from places such as Brazil, Haiti, and Korea where charismatics have been evangelizing since the 1980sâŠ. As immigrants from Brazil, Haiti, and other countries emigrated to the United States, they brought the renewal movement with them, which the church has since supported through a traveling circuit of âhealing priestsâ and lay preachers from the Caribbean and Latin America who lead retreats, masses and concerts in New England. (Johnson 2014, 237â238)
In fact, European churches at the turn of the twentieth century remained strongly connected to their expatriate parishioners. Because they worried migrants might convert to other faiths in the USA, they often contributed money, clergy and resources toward the establishment of ethnic churches. Irish priests, for example, often accompanied compatriots migrating to the USA (Dolan 1992). Italian bishops also collaborated with one another to help migrants in the USA. One notable example is John Baptist Scalabrini who founded the Missionaries of St. Charles (priests and brothers) and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles in 1887 and 1895 respectively. These two religious congregations were originally founded to care for Italian immigrants in North and South America but have expanded since the 1960s to include migrants around the world (Johnson 2014, 238).
In contemporary times Irish-born priests have been brought over to serve new Irish migrants in Boston. Unlike their predecessors who served Irish migrants at the turn of the twentieth century, many of whom had no intention of returning home, they stay only for five-year contracts. They are supported by the Boston archdiocese, the Irish Catholic Church and the Irish government, and they report to superiors in the USA and Ireland. These priests see their job as helping Irish migrants who plan to settle in the USA and those who want to maintain ties to Ireland such that pre-marital classes for these migrants even include sessions on securing mortgages in Boston and in Ireland (Levitt 2001a, 11).
The Philippine Chaplaincy in Paris (Mission catholique Philippine en France), which was established by the Bishops Conference of France and the Diocese of Paris in 1986, also illustrates the various ways in which local churches serve as a link across national boundaries. First, it serves as a link between Filipina migrants and the Philippines. The chaplain comes directly from the Philippines and voices the migrantsâ needs during his meetings with French priests and bishops. The church given to the migrants to use also becomes a place for the observance or continuity of Filipino culture and tradition. In 1992 the priest, together with the ambassador of the Philippines to France, even headed the executive committee of the federation of Filipino migrant associations, the Filipino Community Associations Assembly in France, while succeeding Filipino priests managed the federationâs bank account (Fresnoza-Flot 2010, 351). Second, the church serves as a link between the Filipina migrants and France by offering French classes and serving as a conduit for business ideas, job opportunities and housing possibilities (Fresnoza-Flot 2010, 354â355). Last but not least, the church has also served as a link to Filipina migrants in other parts of the world because there have been instances when it became a refuge for migrant Filipina domestic workers in the Middle East who fled from their abusive employers while the latter were on holiday in France (Fresnoza-Flot 2010, 348, 354).
The Catholic Church also has structures and processes which manifest transnationalism in the context of migration on a wider scope. This can be seen in the creation of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in 1988. The council publishes the magazine People on the Move, which is circulated worldwide, and its officers and consultors are clergy and laity directly involved in the care of migrants in various parts of the world. Another transnational structure is the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) which has its main office in Switzerland, development office in Boston, affiliated offices in Washington, DC and Brussels, and field offices in Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey. Last but not least, are the various religious congregations with cross-border apostolate and ministries among migrants. The Scalabrinians, for instance, operate a network of migrant shelters along the USâMexico and MexicoâGuatemala borders that provide spiritual, religious and practical support for unauthorized migrants in transit (Hondagneu-Sotelo 2008, 141â143).
Church leaders themselves minister to their migrant parishioners across borders and, consequently, witness to the idea of a borderless church. Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini of Guatemala, for example, has not only opened a hospitality centre for immigrants deported from Mexico and the USA. He also developed a sister relationship with the Diocese of Wilmington in Delaware where many of his parishionersâdisplaced by the coffee crisisâended up labouring in poultry packing plants (Gill 2003, 111). One shining example of transnational Catholic leadership on behalf of migrants is the collaborative work between American and Mexican bishops as exemplified in the USCCB (2003) pastoral letter Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope (hereafter SNL). This transnational approach is reflected in SNL, no. 104:
We ask our presidents to continue negotiations on migration issues to achieve a system of migration between the two countries that is more generous, just and humane. We call for legislatures of our two countries to effect a conscientious revision of the immigration laws and to establish a binational system that accepts migration flows, gua...