Message by Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi
Your Excellency, the Ambassador of France to Malta,
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
Many thanks to the Embassy of France to Malta for having organised this exhibition entitled Refuge and Reconstruction, together with the Migrants Commission, SkateUni and Spark15, and in collaboration with the Archbishop’s Delegate for Culture and MELA. A special word of appreciation goes to Martin Bertrand, the photographer of this exhibition.
Refuge and Reconstruction explores what happens after the arrival of refugees: the waiting, learning, relationships and everyday processes through which people seeking protection begin to rebuild their lives in Malta. It is good that this exhibition is being inaugurated today, when the Catholic Church marks its World Day of Migrants and Refugees, a day to pray for people on the move, name the challenges they face, and recognise the opportunities migration brings to us all.
Let us start from where we are – a few introductory words on this room in the Archbishop’s Palace. This is the room that was once used as a chancery. It is a room where human experiences were once recorded, judged, and preserved. Today, in this same room, Martin Bertrand’s photographs, in this exhibition, welcome the faces, stories, and memories of human beings. When we see these photographs, we become aware of the people behind these images who call us towards hospitality, responsibility and solidarity.
It is a remarkable coincidence that Pope Leo XIV is currently in France, and yesterday he visited the Maison Bakhita Centre for Social Support and Integration, in Paris, and met migrants and refugees. I would like to quote a few words from his address, which I think are particularly fitting for this occasion: “When we look closely, the history of the Church and of humanity is not written by those who give the impression of winning by imposing themselves and ‘dominating the room’, but by those who ‘make room’, initiate processes of peace, build trust and encourage life. These are not merely sentiments, but decisions and commitments that run counter to prevailing trends, whose public importance and promise for the future we are recognising with ever greater clarity”.
He adds: “No one is so poor as to have nothing to give; no one is so rich as to have nothing to receive. There is life in abundance wherever each person’s limitations become an opening to the mysterious presence of others, in whom the Other par excellence – the God of life – draws near”.
And in his message for the World Day of Migrant and Refugees, drawing our attention particularly to the experience of migrant and refugee children, Pope Leo XIV speaks about the urgent change of perspective which is needed: our focus must shift “from the mere management of migration to the full and immediate protection of human rights, adopting a coordinated, supportive and effective response, capable of guaranteeing protection, welcome and genuine opportunities for integration to those who migrate”. May this exhibition help us to embrace and promote this perspective.
✠ Joseph Galea-Curmi
Auxiliary Bishop of Malta
