Governments and the Catholic Church need to work together to help lift Gypsies out of a life of poverty and discrimination, a Vatican official said.International organizations and governments must respect the rights and dignity of the world's Gypsies, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, told participants of a European conference on Roma Gypsies.
The term Gypsies is often used to identify the various communities that refer to themselves as Roma, Sinti, Manouches, Kale, Gitans and Yeniches.
Nations must also make a commitment "to eradicate still widespread episodes of racism and xenophobia which lead to discrimination in (Gypsies') gaining employment, housing and having access to an education," he said in a Jan. 23 speech.
The Italian government's Ministry of the Interior sponsored the Jan. 22-23 conference in Rome, which brought together government leaders, scholars and church representatives.
The conference was a run-up event to the Jan. 27 International Holocaust Remembrance Day and to "underline the need not to forget the extermination of Roma Gypsies during the Second World War," a Jan. 22 conference statement said. Historians estimate the Nazi regime and its allies killed up to 220,000 Roma living in Europe.
Archbishop Marchetto said in his address that the Gypsies are a unique minority because they do not have a country of origin that would "be able to give them the support they might need."
A lack of clear citizenship "means solid political guarantees and civil protection are missing," he said. To ensure Gypsies' human rights are protected everywhere, national governments must forge "a common, global, shared policy for pulling Gypsies out from poverty and rejection," he said.
The church, too, is called to step in and offer services and care, so it can help improve living conditions and fulfill other needs that future government policies eventually may demand, he said.
While it is primarily the responsibility of a nation to launch projects for the development and educational needs of the Gypsies, "it may be opportune and even necessary that the church be involved in concrete initiatives, leaving room for the Gypsies to then take over the reins," Archbishop Marchetto said.
No matter what, he said, the church must keep public authorities informed on the difficult conditions and situations Gypsies face.
Numbering from 7 million to 9 million people, Roma Gypsies represent the largest minority population in Europe, Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community, told conference attendees.
They have lived in Europe since the 14th century, but instead of being rightly considered "a fully European population," Gypsies have undergone more than six centuries of discrimination by their neighbors and governments, he said.
According to recent figures, he said, there are more than 110,000 Gypsies in Italy and more than half of them are under the age of 14.
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