Contributions of the Social Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on Migration: From a ‘Culture of Rejection’ to a ‘Culture of Encounter’

Abstract

This article searches for contributions provided by the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church to avoid suffering and death under migrants, that, following Pope Francis, are provoked from a ‘culture of rejection’. From an interdisciplinary approach this article facilitates the assessment of mechanisms that generate these situations. It also focuses on the ethical and theological criteria of the Catholic social teaching to achieve a culture of encounter and acceptance of migrants and refugees.