HRE M01
Valentina Sanchez
April 4th, 2016 Church and Kant on Refugee Crisis

Catholic teachings are known to bring forth the concept of loving one another and helping those in need. These teachings are evident in the pastoral letter that has been released recently. The letter states that “Pope Francis has repeatedly reminded us of [the refuges] need for help, and appealed to the world not to turn our hearts away when homeless masses seek shelter, protection and a better life,” this letter highlights the fact that as a Catholic one has the duty to help others and to fulfill those duties one must follow the word of God. The Catholic teachings are known amongst many people and can also resemble that of other teachings. The crisis that is currently occurring has caused many to lose everything, and they are seeking help and a better life in other countries. Welcoming refugees with open arms bring one closer to God since one would be following some of the most important Catholic teaching which is treating everyone with dignity, even though the immigration policies have had to progress over time they are at a point now that will be able to help those in need. . The Ethical message of helping ones neighbor brought forth by the Article is similar to that of Kant’s Golden Rule which teaches that you must do unto others as you want done to you, truly representing the views of Catholicism and highlighting how important it is to love thy neighbor and how this will play a necessary part in helping the refugees in need.

Religion has always been around, progressing and helping the lives of others, not only through the word of God but also through those that follow it. More specifically the Catholic church which is known to be “one of the largest organized institutions in the world”(Rowe, 29), meaning that it has obtained a lot of power over time, both political and influential. The church having this power means that it can greatly influence and highly impact the help the refugees will receive from those that follow the word of God. Recently the church has spoken up about helping those in the refugee crisis. This crisis has been brought on by the civil war in Syria that has been constant for the past five years. The war has brought on many deaths and left many people without their homes and families, over 500,000 people have already immigrated to other countries trying to flee the horror they have had to face in the last couple of years. Currently people are still struggling to flee the country, and when they do come to a new country they have to start from zero, in the sense that they longer have their old homes or their old lives, as well as face new hardships in a country that they are completely new to. With the help of the church and their organizations, the refugees may have an easier time settling down. As humans we have a tendency to act when seeing others in need, this in Kant’s Philosophy is known as the Godwits. This idea that we must help others in need can be brought back to that of the bibles teachings of helping hers who are in need.

Global politics are constantly changing over time due to changes in society or, in democratic countries, the majority overpowering the minorities. The Catholic church has been known to “have had a profound impact on politics”(Rowe.44), and due to the fact that its “membership is massive and controls a vast array of organizations and properties”(Rowe, 29), like any other well known organization or company it has the ability to impact those who look up to it. In Modern society a vast majority of Catholics are all around the world no longer being considered the minority. Religion is not only affecting past and present policies within politics but also has a very strong set outlook on human rights. Within Catholic teachings it is clearly stated that everyone must be treated with dignity due to the fact that “every man is born with Dignity”(Witte, Green, 12), and since God created humans that way it is ones duty to make sure that others are able to keep their dignity. This teaching presents itself within the pastoral letter, which is asking for others to help the refugees in need, although not saying it directly the fact that it asks everyone to help shows that the concept is still alive. Helping those that are currently in need with something as simple as donations of food or clothes, can help them regain their dignity that may have been lost after the great deal they have suffered over time. The views that we are all created equally is not lost on philosopher Immanuel Kant as he clearly states that “The equality of every member of the society towards each other is the second rational principle under which rights are created. “(Kant).

Though the refugees have recently been receiving a lot of help it seems to be lost on some people that it was not always this way. The importance of the democratic vote is seen within Canadian law in the past couple of years. Looking at the Canadian government alone when Steven Harper was in Charge he was supposed to accept over 10,000 refugees during his time in office but it is known that those number were nowhere near as high as they should have been, but recently with the new change in office Justin Trudeau has already accepted over 10,000 refugees into the country. These facts are so important because it shows the power of the people. Although the refugees have received much help it is still important to keep people informed, as stated in the letter, due to the fact that there is a lot of ignorance and hate to the refugees looking for a safe haven. Often times the judgment comes from misconceptions that the people escaping the terror are the ones to be afraid of, but as Kant states “if understanding as such is explicated as our power of rules then the power of judgement is the ability to subsume under rules. I.e to distinguish whether something does or does not fall under a given rule,”(Kant, 105) so what makes it that refugees being of the same religion and home than that of attackers makes them so? Only the idea that those who are considered a minority cannot be as diverse as the majority. The importance of the letter seen within the statement that “[their] hands and hearts may unite with [their] voices in action that will give a loving welcome to refugees in the country,” showing that the church is clearly trying to help those in need as well as educate those who still believe in the misconception of the innocent.

Within the pastoral letter the church has managed to really embody the teachings shown within both the Catholic Church and Emmanuel Kant’s philosophy. The letter states that, as Catholics one must do what they can to help those currently in need and not turn our backs on them in this trying time, it also has a brief focus on the fact that people must stay informed. The refugees have suffered so much and when moving to a new country they no longer have anything, but with the help of the church and this letter more people will become aware of the situation. Refugees are fleeing to other countries all over the world to escape the war in their land, and every one is accepting them with open arms. The church’s teachings and Kant’s’ philosophies, though not exactly the same, have a lot of similarities which include the human need and want to help others in hard times. The importance of this pastoral letter is seen within the influence that the church can have and how important the opinion of the people is. The church’s influence is necessary to be able to inform people and help the refugees.

Works cited

Kant, Immanuel, and James W. Ellington. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 1981. Print.

Kant, Immanuel, Paul Guyer, and Allen W. Wood. Critique of Pure Reason. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.

Line, Brett, and Linda Poon. "Immigration Policies Around the World." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 30 June 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.

Rowe, Paul S. Religion and Global Politics. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

Witte, John, and M. Christian Green. Religion and Human Rights: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.