The Council for Emigrants of the Irish Bishops’ Conference has produced a prayer resource for those who are emigrating and those who remain at home. “The Bishops’ Conference itself was anxious to offer prayerful support to emigrants. Prayer is an important part of the Christian life. It can be particularly significant in times of crisis or trouble,” Joanna Joyce, Emigrant Officer, the Council for Emigrants told ciNews.
“This prayer resource was prepared for emigrants and their families in response to the current wave of emigration. Emigration affects not only those who have emigrated. For those left behind in Ireland the experience can be devastating. It is important that we reach out to emigrants and their families to remind them that they are not forgotten or alone.”
The Council for Emigrants is the response of the Episcopal Conference to the needs of Irish emigrants before and after departure. It aims to show the caring face of the Church, and works especially on behalf of the vulnerable involuntary emigrant.
It acts as a voice on their behalf, condemning involuntary emigration and seeking rights and adequate services for them. It provides services for potential emigrants and, in conjunction with the host church responds to the needs of the Irish as an immigrant community.
According to the Central Statistics Office, 40,200 people from the Republic of Ireland emigrated in the year to April 2011, a rise of 45% on the previous 12 months.
The Irish Episcopal Council for Emigrants and Irish chaplaincies abroad, have been responding to the increase in emigration.
“In the last five years Irish chaplaincies abroad have received a marked increase in the demand for their pastoral services. The chaplaincies play an important role in helping emigrants to feel a sense of belonging in their host country and this includes offering spiritual and faith support. Belonging to a church and national community is extremely important for many Irish emigrants,” said Joanna Joyce.
She gave the experience of the Irish Chaplaincy in Sydney that reported on Christmas Day each year around 1,000 Irish emigrants attend Mass in St. Patrick’s Church in Bondi, stating, “This celebration allows them to feel closer to home despite being thousands of miles away."
The Council for Emigrants encourages Catholic emigrants to make themselves known to, and participate in, parish communities in their host country. Nowadays, people talk more of networking than ‘the start’ that so many Irish emigrants sought in the past.
“In many ways this generation of Irish emigrants is in a much better position than those who have gone before them; however, emigrants today face many of the same human challenges as the emigrants of previous generations. These include practical challenges; finding affordable accommodation and good employment, and social challenges, including trying to fit into a new culture and dealing with feelings of loneliness and isolation,” said Joanna Joyce.
The Irish Chaplaincy in Britain, the Irish Apostolate USA and the Irish Chaplaincy in Sydney help with all these things for Irish emigrants of all generations. Their most crucial role is in ‘welcoming the stranger’ and in providing pastoral support and assistance to Irish emigrants who may find themselves in difficulty.
Earlier in 2012 the Council for Emigrants produced an Emigrant Information Pack. It contains practical information about accommodation, visa requirements and employment issues as well as stories from emigrants, for those who work abroad and those who are left behind.