Once again, Christianity is leading the way. Or better still, Pope Francis is making history. He was the first world leader who put the issue of migration on the world stage when, two years ago, he went to Lampedusa to say Mass. Back then, no one believed or wanted to hear about the existence of a migratory crisis in the Mediterranean. As a nation, we were in awe of the application of pushback principles. The Pope’s appeal that each parish in Rome and each convent in his city should receive a family of exiles shows Christianity is leading the way.

What is happening in the world of migration, and the way certain sections of society are reacting to this issue, confirms what Foucault has said about modern society. Normally, we accuse our ancestors of being perverse or corrupt. The Catholic Church in particular has been accused of being a totally corrupt institution and this element of guilt, which was strongly emphasized in the Anglo-Saxon world, is being used to inflict further damage on this institution. This was also the tactic adopted by the Western Media until the arrival of a pope from Latin America, the land of Liberation Theology. Now we have a pope who declares that the two parishes within the Vatican are going to host two families and ordered the parishes in Rome to do the same. He also asked Roman Catholic parishes in Europe to follow suit

The local Church reacted by stating that it has an internal commission to help migrants and in the past years, this commission has helped to allocate 400 families. I found such a statement weak if not a bit out of tune. Even in Rome, there are structures, like the Caritas, that look after migrants. The message of the Pope is different. He wants the initiative to start at a parish level, in each and every convent. He wants each parish in Rome to adopt a family. Therefore, the Pope’s request differs from the interpretation being given by the local Curia. There is no doubt that the local Church took a number of positive initiatives in the past including setting up a specific commission to tackle such issues, but the Pope wants each parish and each religious community to shoulder responsibility.  In the same way that our parish churches find money for fireworks and festas, one hopes that these same parishes and our religious communities will see their way to offering shelter to families escaping war, terrorism and persecution.

A similar message was sent by Hermann Schiavone. Having learned of his indigent background, one can understand why this budding politician is succeeding in making news. By using his Facebook Page, he echoed the same message sent by the Pope. In truth, he even anticipated the Pope’s proposal. With their initiatives, they are challenging the liberal notions that have reduced every individual to just a number, without any personal identity. In the name of science, rights and so forth, everything is now permissible and perverse.

For example, one would not have encountered xenophobic statements similar to those we are hearing today when Malta received thousands of refugees who were escaping war. A case in point is to be found in the history of the sixteenth century. When the Knights of St. John came to Malta in 1530, they brought with them an entourage running into thousands of Greek families who had escaped with them from Rhodes. No one saw them as a liability. On the contrary, they proved to be an asset to the island. All the “Grech” families in Malta are descendants of these Rhodian Greeks or other Greek families who were escaping from the Ottoman Empire. 

This change of view towards migration confirms that perversity is primarily a form of power. The way a section of the Maltese society is reacting to this migratory crisis, in particular with their xenophobic statements, brings to my mind Foucault’s words about perversity. “Modern society is perverse”, he wrote, “not in spite of its puritanism or as if from a backlash provoked by its hypocrisy; it is actual fact, and directly perverse”. How true he is when one looks at how certain sections of our society or certain European Governments have reacted to this crisis.

Under the pressure from a section of public opinion in Germany, Merkel changed her policies towards immigration, and for few days opened its doors to those refugees escaping from war-torn Syria. Populism was, for a moment, defeated by another outcry in Europe in support of people escaping from war.  The people of Germany and Austria gave a lesson to European politicians and also to the Arab states. Kuwait, for example, was one of those countries fomenting xenophobic messages against the Syrian refugees who are mostly Muslim. Definitely, this unexpected welcome will put Islam in crisis; at least in those countries where it is the dominant religion.

Merkel gave the signal that there was a change in policy and her country would start leading the way to take over the cultural leadership of Europe, after France lost such leadership, ironically, due to the Enlightenment. However, that is another matter. Unfortunately sooner or later, Germany will return to the concept of Fortress Europe. Germany wants to stick to the concept of Schengen which in itself is in part the reason for this current crisis. At least, by breaking Schengen’s rule, those who are truly refugees have succeeded to enter Europe. It is true that with them, have entered a number of what are normally defined as economic migrants.

The way Europe is looking at this refugee crisis is therefore perverse. Economic excess and relative dictatorship of the individual can also be qualified as perversity and accounts for why our concept of the migrant has changed. For sure, these are turning upside down the ancient rules that have their roots in Greek philosophy, which gave birth to our present democratic principles. In my opinion, Europe has only to gain from this migration, in view of the fact that it has the least fertility rate in the world and that is one reason why Germany is taking them in. Germany will therefore help Europe to rebalance itself and, in the long run, will ensure that Europe will continue to enjoy pride of place in world politics. Perhaps without having envisaged it, this change of direction, has made it obvious to the German people, that their country has the potential to take the cultural lead of the old continent.