Interview with Marco Mencaglia, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) project manager for Ukraine
ACN – This coming Sunday, September 25, we celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Pope Francis has written a message entitled «Building the future with migrants and refugees». It is a very topical issue, but the Church has been celebrating this day for 108 years.
Emergency aid for refugees is deeply rooted in the history of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). This Foundation began by providing spiritual assistance to thousands of Catholic refugees fleeing from the other side of the Iron Curtain. In 2021, 84 million people in the world had to flee their homes in search of refuge because of war or violence by terrorist groups, according to UNHCR. Marco Mencaglia is responsible for Aid to the Church in Need projects in Ukraine, a country that is now experiencing a huge humanitarian crisis since Russia invaded its territory on February 24. An estimated 14 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, more than half of them outside their borders.
What does ACN, as part of the Catholic Church, bring to help these people who unfortunately are increasing all over the world and particularly in Ukraine?
Marco Mencaglia: First of all, we can say that ACN was born as an organization to help migrants and refugees. After the Second World War, the first help of our organization was for the 14 million displaced people from East Germany, under the control of the Soviet Union, who had moved to West Germany. After that, over the course of time, a pastoral action of the Church has developed and the issue of migrant care is very important to us. That strong attention continues in some particular contexts, the last one in Ukraine, where we are supporting the local Church with the displaced people fleeing from the east of the country to the west and other areas where there is no fighting.
What kinds of projects is ACN supporting in Ukraine, to help these thousands of people who have fled their homes to other parts of the country because of the war?
Since the beginning of the conflict in February, we have been in contact with the bishops of Ukraine to see how we can support the local Church, which in a short time has found itself in a situation of incredible emergency, with up to 7 million internally displaced persons. We are supporting convents, monasteries, seminaries and parishes that have become places of refuge. These people need not only basic necessities but also a personal touch, with someone who listens to them, who can support them in their personal traumas of living through war and bombings. That is why our support is focused on helping the local Church, the priests, religious and lay people who care for these displaced people. We do not accept only generic humanitarian aid projects that we do not know to whom they will be delivered. We always ask for the details of the place, the parish or seminary of destination, the number of people supported and the time that these people will be helped with our contribution.
There are many people fleeing their countries also for religious reasons, for example in Iraq or Syria, where Christians are threatened, do you think that religious persecution is also causing an increase in refugees in the world?
We know that in recent years many people have suffered religious persecution in the world, such as in Iraq or Syria, but also in many African countries, such as Nigeria, Mozambique or Cameroon. Perhaps religious persecution is not the first cause of the refugee crisis but many times the religious question is used as an instrument to marginalize part of the population of a country. The Catholic Church suffers because it is not affiliated to any of the groups in power in those countries and no one defends the nuns and priests who live in very distant parishes and who are victims of violent attacks and assaults by armed troops. In many cases the motives for these attacks are unknown, but the Church is the victim of persecution. Many of the people displaced by violent conflicts or wars are the faithful of the Church who do not know what to do, where to go with their families to have a life in peace.
Could you share any testimonies of faith from individuals or families who have fled their homes in Ukraine but are welcomed by the Church and continue to trust in God in spite of everything?
In April of this year with a group of ACN collaborators we had the opportunity to visit Ukraine and many of the communities in the west of the country, which are hosting thousands of displaced people. Many of these displaced people have never had any contact with the faith, coming from Eastern Ukraine with an Orthodox majority but perhaps never having had a real experience of God. For example, in the archdiocese of Ivano-Frankivsk, Greek Catholic nuns told us that in many cases these displaced people asked to speak to priests and some asked to be baptized and receive the sacraments. This is a grace from God and we can testify how many people have been able to meet God in such a difficult moment.
The Pope in his message for this day that we will celebrate on Sunday, highlights that many Catholic migrants and refugees strengthen the Church in host countries. What is your experience about this and if you can share a concrete example of one of the countries you know?
As the person responsible in ACN for projects throughout the European continent, I am witnessing how Catholic migrant communities are a help to the Church. For example, in Northern Europe, such as Sweden, Iceland, Finland or Norway, small Catholic communities are made up of people of dozens of different nationalities. They are not united by language, nationality or ethnicity, but by a common faith. We can say, returning to the subject of Ukraine, that ACN has been very supportive of the Ukrainian migrant communities in Western Europe. It is estimated that before the war, almost 8 million Ukrainians left their country after the end of the Soviet Union, many for economic reasons, and because of this, new dioceses have been founded or existing communities have been strengthened. Therefore, we can affirm that migrant Catholic communities can be the driving force to strengthen evangelization in some countries.