Exsul familia

Exsul familia - Jan Kowalik

Exsul Familia is the apostolic constitution written by Pope Pius XII on the topic of migration. It was released on 1 August 1952. The title of the document refers to the migrant Holy Family, forced to flee into Egypt, taken as the archetype of every refugee family. Exsul Familia is the only papal document in which Pope Pius himself outlines the nature and extent of Papal charities during and after World War II on millions of refugees and displaced persons.

Exsul Familia is on[clarification needed] the millions of refugees after World War Two in Europe. The Pope asked for an open-door policy for these millions of stranded people and prescribes pastoral policies for the care of foreign nationals within Roman Catholic dioceses. “We have tried earnestly to produce in the minds of all people a sympathetic approach towards exiles and refugees who are our needier brothers. In fact, we have often spoken of their wretched lives, upheld their rights, and more than once appealed in their behalf to the generosity of all men and especially of Catholics.[1]

A statistical report from the Council of Europe of that time documents the extent of the problem. In 1950, five years after the end of WWII, there were 11.8 million displaced persons in Europe, of which 1.23 million persons were foreign nationals. This figure has been slightly decreasing since May 1945. Austria and Finland are not included. They add another 801 000 displaced persons. A total of 12.6 million persons lived displaced as refugees in various West European countries.[2]

The Pontiff views the émigré Holy Family of Nazareth, fleeing into Egypt, as the archetype of every refugee family. Therefore, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, living in exile in Egypt to escape the fury of an evil king, are, for all times and all places, the models and protectors of every migrant, alien and refugee. Exsul Familia 1In Exul Familia, Pius XII reviews what the Church has done in this matter and then discusses more fully the implementation of this work in our[who?] own times. Experience shows that displaced persons lose much of their security and human dignity, argued the Pope.

They need special care by the Church. The Church has always done that, by taking care of people in slavery, prisons, deported persons, prisoner colonies, émigrés in the 19th century, and the faithful of the oriental rites. The Pope reviews the charities of his predecessors, of several Catholic aid organizations and gives an interesting detail into the (so far largely undocumented) charity work during his papacy in WWII. Finally, the Pope explains that many bishops throughout the world have asked the holy see, to issue guidelines for the pastoral care of those who emigrated to their shores. The Second part of Exul Familia contains these guidelines.

Exsul Familia has become the basis for Church immigration policy and has been cited in contemporary political debates about Mexican Catholic immigration to the United States. Migrants are celebrated during the annual World Day of Migrants and Refugees.