Churches and
Migration in Asia and Australia
Although Asia has been traversed by migratory
movements throughout its history, it is only with the changes in migration policies of
receiving countries in the late 1960s that movement of people for resettlement or for work
has acquired new major proportions. Permanent migration toward North America and Oceania
surpasses 400,000 units every year. The refugee crisis of the 1970s caused temporary and
permanent resettlement of thousands of people. Migrant workers move toward the Middle East
and the East and Southeast regions at unprecedented numbers, while highly skilled
personnel is utilized by transnational corporations throughout Asia.
The Episcopal Conferences of the Catholic Church in
the various nations have addressed the issue through institutional structures to
provide for the necessary care of migrants. Some have also issued pastoral letters or
statements to call the attention of governments and people in general on this pressing
phenomenon.
