RECIPROCAL GIFTS
133. The arrival of those who are different, coming from other ways of life and cultures, can be a gift, for “the stories of migrants are always stories of an encounter between individuals and between cultures. For the communities and societies to which they come, migrants bring an opportunity for enrichment and the integral human development of all”.[Christus Vivit 93]
Stories are always helpful in any sort of relationship. In sharing mutual personal and cultural history one locates commonalities of family, of beliefs and values. It is easy enough to gang with people of similar ideological bent. Politics then supercedes culture and one’s own life experiences. It’s always a surprise to find common ground unexpectedly.
For this reason, “I especially urge young people not to play into the hands of those who would set them against other young people, newly arrived in their countries, and who would encourage them to view the latter as a threat, and not possessed of the same inalienable dignity as every other human being”.[Ibid., 94]
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Catholic Sensibility 