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16 

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING ON 

IMMIGRATION AND THE MOVEMENT OF 

PEOPLES 
 

Prof. Ikechukwu Anthony KANU 
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies 

Tansian University, Umunya 
Anambra State 

ikee_mario@yahoo.com 
& 

Mike Boni BAZZA, Ph.D 
Department of History and International Relations 

Veritas University Abuja (The Catholic University of Nigeria) 
danbazza68@gmail.com 

& 
Immaculata Olu OMOJOLA (SSMA), Ph.D 

Department of Business Administration and Management 
Villanova Polytechnic 
Imesi Ile, Osun State 

omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk 
 

Abstract 
This paper interrogates the Catholic social teaching on immigration and 
the movements of peoples. The discourse does this, by first of all stating 
that, the rights of migrants (refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, 
migrant workers, and internally displaced persons-IDPs) begin with the 
foundation of Catholic Social Teaching, namely, the dignity and sanctity 
of the human person. The paper submits that right to life and 
the conditions worthy of life, when threatened by poverty, injustice, 
religious intolerance, armed conflict, and other root causes, give rise to 
the right to migrate. It argues that unity in diversity is firmly grounded in 
the Church's social teaching and understanding and appreciating this 
helps us to put our faith into action. This paper, further evaluates the 
principles of Catholic social teaching using specific quotes from Church 
documents that address the most common misperceptions about Church 
teachings. The purpose of this discussion therefore, is to provide a brief, 



220 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

concise, and useful compilation of information on authentic Roman 
Catholic teaching regarding the areas of immigration and the movements 
of peoples that currently concern most Christians. The body of this work 
consists of quotes from documents and statements originating only from 
those men who are authorized to speak for the Catholic Church, namely, 
the Popes and those Bishops and theologians in union with them. Thus, 
following this methodology, these quotes are extracted from encyclicals, 
pastoral letters, and addresses by these representatives of the 
Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Catholic Church. 
 
Keywords: Migration, Catholic Social Teaching, Magisterium, Church 
Documents           
 
Introduction 
In advocating on behalf of migrants, immigrants, and refugees, it is 
important to understand that the Catholic position is based on Catholic 
social teaching, which is derived from the Gospels and the words of 
Christ; statements and encyclicals of the Popes; and statements and 
pastoral letters of bishops around the world. The rights of migrants 
(refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, migrant workers, and internally 
displaced persons-IDPs) begin with the foundation of Catholic Social 
Teaching, namely, the dignity and sanctity of the human person. The 
right to life and the conditions worthy of life, when threatened by 
poverty, injustice, religious intolerance, armed conflict, and other root 
causes, give rise to the right to migrate.1 As Pope John XXIII explained: 

Every human being has the right to freedom of 
movement and of residence within the confines of his 
own country; and, when there are just reasons for it, the 
right to emigrate to other countries and take up residence 
there. The fact that one is a citizen of a particular state 
does not detract in any way from his membership in the 
human family as a whole, nor from his citizenship in the 
world community.2 

This is a right to both emigrate from one’s own country and 
immigrate into another country. In 2003 for example, the Catholic 
bishops of the United States and Mexico named five principles3 that have 
emerged from the “rich tradition of church teachings with regard to 
migration”:  
 
First Principle: Persons have a right to find opportunities in their 
own homeland 
This principle reflects the responsibilities of all citizens and governments 
for the common good, creating the political, economic, and social 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    221 

conditions for persons to live in dignity, raise their families, use their 
God-given gifts, and find employment that provides a living family wage 
- a fundamental principle of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) dating back 
to the 19th century. Wealthy and powerful nations are obliged to assist 
less developed nations in creating the conditions for people to live 
dignified lives. 
 
Second Principle: Persons have the right to migrate to support 
themselves and their families 
Pope Pius XII declared in 1952 that both natural law and devotion to 
humanity required that international migration be opened to people 
forced from their countries by revolutions, unemployment, or hunger. 
He explained: “For the Creator of the universe made all good things 
primarily for the good of all.”4 When people cannot find adequate work, 
they have a natural right to work elsewhere to attain the means of 
survival for themselves and their families. 
 
Third Principle: Sovereign nations have the right to control their 
borders 
Our tradition recognizes the right of nations to control their territories, a 
right arising from their responsibility for the common good. However, as 
Pope Pius indicated, this right is not absolute. State sovereignty “cannot 
be exaggerated to the point that access to this land is, for inadequate or 
unjustified reasons, denied to needy and decent people from other 
nations….” Balancing rights then becomes critical. In fact, according to 
the bishops, individual rights and state responsibility for the common 
good are complementary. 

While the sovereign state may impose reasonable limits on 
immigration, the common good is not served when the basic human 
rights of the individual are violated. In the current condition of the 
world, in which global poverty and persecution are rampant, the 
presumption is that persons must migrate in order to support and protect 
themselves and that nations who are able to receive them should do so 
whenever possible.5 

In 2000, the bishops, reflecting on the tension between border 
control and the individual right to fundamental dignity, declared the 
latter to “give rise to a more compelling claim to the conditions worthy 
of human life.”6 
 
Fourth Principle: Refugees and asylum seekers should be 
afforded protection 
Those who flee wars and persecution have a greater claim for protection 
from the global community. As the fathers of the church would urge: 



222 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

“This requires, at a minimum, that migrants have a right to claim refugee 
status without incarceration and to have their claims fully considered by 
a competent authority.”7 
 
Fifth Principle: The human dignity and human rights of 
undocumented migrants should be                 respected 
According to the bishops, it is noteworthy that: “Regardless of their legal 
status, migrants, like all persons, possess inherent dignity that should be 
respected.”8 This applies to punitive laws, enforcement practices, 
detention conditions, abuse and neglect, and policies that tear families 
apart. Even undocumented workers, often subject to inadequate wages 
and demeaning conditions in a shadow economy, are entitled to basic 
human rights in terms of wages and working conditions. Immigrant 
workers, even ones without documents, do not lose their status as 
human persons made in God’s image. Demeaning wages, inhuman 
conditions, and the denial of workers’ natural rights assault the dignity 
and sanctity of the human person. 
 
Biblical Vision of Love for Strangers 
Both the Old and New Testaments tell compelling stories of refugees 
forced to flee because of oppression. Exodus tells the story of the Chosen 
People, Israel, who were victims of bitter slavery in Egypt. They were 
utterly helpless by themselves, but with God's powerful intervention 
they were able to escape and take refuge in the desert. For forty years 
they lived as wanderers with no homeland of their own. Finally, God 
fulfilled his ancient promise and settled them on the land that they could 
finally call home. The Israelites' experience of living as homeless aliens 
was so painful and frightening that God ordered his people for all time to 
have special care for the alien: "You shall treat the alien who resides with 
you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love 
for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt” 
(Lv. 19:33-34). 
 The New Testament begins with Matthew's story of Joseph and 
Mary's escape to Egypt with their newborn son, Jesus, because the 
paranoid and jealous King Herod wanted to kill the infant. Our Savior 
himself lived as a refugee because his own land was not safe. Jesus 
reiterates the Old Testament command to love and care for the stranger, 
a criterion by which we shall be judged: “For I was hungry and you gave 
me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you 
welcomed me” (Mt. 25:35). 

The Apostle Paul asserts the absolute equality of all people before 
God: "There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . for you are all one in Christ 
Jesus" (Gal 3:28). In Christ, the human race is one before God, equal in 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    223 

dignity and rights. In addition to the five principles articulated by the 
Catholic bishops of the United States and Mexico in 2003 as mentioned 
above, three other basic principles of Catholic Social Teaching on 
Immigration is given due attention here. Although Catholic theology has 
always promoted human rights rooted in natural law and God's 
revelation, it was the encyclical Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of 
Labor) in 1891 that developed a systematic presentation of principles of 
the rights and responsibilities of people.9 Rerum Novarum commented on 
the situation of immigrants; in later documents, popes and bishops' 
conferences have synthesized the Catholic theological tradition to 
articulate three basic principles on immigration.   
 
First Principle: People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives 
and the lives of their families. At the end of World War II, with the fall of 
the Nazi empire and the subsequent creation of the Soviet "Iron 
Curtain," Europe faced an unprecedented migration of millions of people 
seeking safety, food, and freedom. At that time, Pope Pius XII 
wrote Exsul Familia (The Emigre Family), placing the Church squarely on 
the side of those seeking a better life by fleeing their homes. When there 
is a massive movement of people such as during a war, natural disaster, 
or famine, the lands that receive these displaced people may be 
threatened. The influx may make it impossible for the native population 
to live securely, as the land may not have enough resources to support 
both. Even in more orderly migrations, such as in the United States, 
citizens and residents of the land may fear that newcomers will take jobs, 
land, and resources, impoverishing the people already present.10 Because 
of the belief that newcomers compete for scarce resources, immigrants 
and refugees are at times driven away, resented, or despised. 
Nevertheless, the first principle of Catholic social teaching regarding 
immigrants is that people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives 
and the lives of their families. This is based on biblical and ancient 
Christian teaching that the goods of the earth belong to all people. While 
the right to private property is defended in Catholic social teaching, 
individuals do not have the right to use private property without regard 
for common good. Every person has an equal right to receive from the 
earth what is necessary for life: food, clothing, shelter. Moreover, every 
person has the right to education, medical care, religion, and the 
expression of one's culture. In many places people live in fear, danger, or 
dehumanizing poverty. Clearly, it is not God's will that some of his 
children live in luxury while others have nothing. In Luke’s Gospel, the 
rich man was condemned for living well while the poor man starved at 
his doorstep (Lk. 16:19-31). The native does not have superior rights 
over the immigrant. Before God all are equal; the earth was given by God 



224 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

to all. When a person cannot achieve a meaningful life in his or her own 
land, that person has the right to move.  
 
Second Principle: A country has the right to regulate its borders and to 
control immigration. The overriding principle of all Catholic social 
teaching is that individuals must make economic, political, and social 
decisions not out of shortsighted self-interest, but with regard for the 
common good. That means that a moral person cannot consider only 
what is good for his or her own self and family, but must act with the 
good of all people as his or her guiding principle. While individuals have 
the right to move in search of a safe and humane life, no country is 
bound to accept all those who wish to resettle there.11By this principle 
the Church recognizes that most immigration is ultimately not 
something to celebrate. Ordinarily, people do not leave the security of 
their own land and culture just to seek adventure in a new place or 
merely to enhance their standard of living. Instead, they migrate because 
they are desperate and the opportunity for a safe and secure life does not 
exist in their own land. Immigrants and refugees endure many hardships 
and often long for the homes they left behind. As human beings, we 
should cherish and celebrate the contributions of immigrants and their 
cultures; however, we should work to make it unnecessary for people to 
leave their own land. Because there seems to be no end to poverty, war, 
and misery in the world, developed nations will continue to experience 
pressure from many peoples who desire to resettle in their lands.12The 
Catholic social teaching is realistic, thus, while people have the right to 
move, no country has the duty to receive so many immigrants that its 
social and economic life is jeopardized. For this reason, Catholics should 
not view the work of the federal government and its immigration control 
as negative or evil. Those who work to enforce our nation's immigration 
laws often do so out of a sense of loyalty to the common good and 
compassion for poor people seeking a better life. In an ideal world, there 
would be no need for immigration control. The Church recognizes that 
this ideal world has not yet been achieved.  
 
Third Principle: A country must regulate its borders with justice and 
mercy.  
The second principle of Catholic social teaching may seem to negate the 
first principle. However, principles one and two must be understood in 
the context of principle three. And all Catholic social teaching must be 
understood in light of absolute equality of all people and the 
commitment to common good.13 

A country's regulation of borders and control of immigration 
must be governed by concern for all people and by mercy and justice. A 



Section 1: Ecclesiastical/Theological Perspectives And Seminary Formation    225 

nation may not simply decide that it wants to provide for its own people 
and no others. A sincere commitment to the needs of all must prevail. In 
our modern world where communication and travel are much easier, the 
burden of emergencies cannot be placed solely on nations immediately 
adjacent to the crises. Justice dictates that the world community 
contributes resources toward shelter, food, medical services and basic 
welfare. Even in the case of less urgent migrations, a developed nation's 
right to limit immigration must be based on justice, mercy, and the 
common good, not on self-interest. Moreover, immigration policy ought 
to take into account other important values such as the right of families 
to live together.14A merciful immigration policy will not force married 
couples or children to live separated from their families for long periods. 

Undocumented immigrants present a special concern. Often 
their presence is considered criminal since they arrive without legal 
permission. Under the harshest view, undocumented people may be 
regarded as undeserving of rights or services. This is not the view of 
Catholic social teaching. The Catholic Church teaches that every person 
has basic human rights and is entitled to have basic human needs met: 
food, shelter, clothing, education, and health care. Undocumented 
persons are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by employers, and they 
are not able to complain because of the fear of discovery and deportation. 
Current immigration policy that criminalizes the mere attempt to 
immigrate and imprisons immigrants who have committed no crime or 
who have already served a just sentence for a crime is immoral. In the 
Bible, God promises that our judgment will be based on our treatment of 
the most vulnerable. Before God we cannot excuse inhumane treatment 
of certain persons by claiming that their lack of legal status deprives them 
of rights given by the creator. 
 
Conclusion 
Finally, immigration policy that allows people to live here and contribute 
to society for years but refuses to offer them the opportunity to achieve 
legal status does not serve the common good. The presence of millions 
of people living without easy access to basic human rights and necessities 
is a great injustice. It is the position of the Catholic Church that pastoral, 
educational, medical, and social services provided by the Church are 
never conditioned on legal status. All persons are invited to participate in 
their parishes, attend our schools, and receive other services offered by 
their institutions and programs.  

In the course of this discourse thus far, this paper has 
successfully interrogated, examined and evaluated the principles of 
Catholic social teaching on migration and movements of peoples. Using 
specific quotes from Church documents that address the most common 



226 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

misperceptions about Church teachings in areas immigration, it was 
noted that the excerpts quoted in this work focus on the dignity of 
human person. As such, they are most suited for use to educate those 
who are ignorant of the Church’s social teachings on the movements of 
people as a whole. In order to comprehend the beauty, richness, and 
wisdom of the quoted Church documents, we conclude by saying: it is 
necessary for the reader to take the time to sit down, read them, and 
contemplate their messages. 
 
Endnotes 
1. Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States, Strangers No Longer: 

Together on the Journey of Hope, joint pastoral letter concerning migration, 

January 2003, Nos. 28-29. 

2. Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, 1963, No. 25. 

3.  Strangers No Longer, op. cit., Nos. 33-39. 

4.  Pope Pius XII, Exsul Familia, Apostolic Constitution, Vatican City, 1952. 

5.  Strangers No Longer, op. cit., No. 39. 

6.  U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity 

in Diversity, Washington, D.C., 2000, p. 11. 

7. Strangers No Longer, op. cit., No. 37. 

8.  Ibid., No. 38. 

9. This resource was written by Fr. Thomas Betz, OFC, Director of Immigration 

and Refugee Services for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and is used with 

permission. Scripture texts used in this work are taken from the New American 

Bible, copyright © 1991, 1986, and 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian 

Doctrine, Washington, D.C. 20017, and are used by permission of copyright 

owner. All rights reserved. 

10. Pope Pius XI, Acta Apostilicae Sedis, XLIII, 1951, p. 843. 

11. Pope John XXIII, Mater et Magistra No. 193, May 15, 1961. 

12. Fr. Thomas Betz, OFC, op. cit. 

13. Ibid. 

14. Pope John Paul II in his Address on Responsible Procreation, September 17, 

1983. " The Wanderer, September 29, 1983, pp. 1-3. 


