Rome (NEV), June 21, 2018 – Pastor Luca Maria Negro, President of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI) – on the occasion of the “World Refugee Day” occurred on June 20th – invited Italian Protestants to renew their commitment to solidarity and to the highest protection of the fundamental right of asylum, guaranteed by the Italian Constitution and by the International laws.Negro also reaffirmed the Protestants ecumenical commitment as in the case, for example, of the collaboration with the Community of St. Egidio in the ‘humanitarian corridors’ project.
For the occasion, many were the initiatives throughout the Peninsula to illustrate and remember the many other projects in which the Italian Protestant churches are involved.
Paolo Naso, coordinator of the FCEI Program Mediterranean Hope, in an editorial recalled that this year the ‘Refugee Day’ fell in the early days of the new Italian Government, that gives an exceptional space to the Minister of Interior, Matteo Salvini. In fact, the minister made clear since his appointment, that with him, for irregular refugees “the fun is over”. In underlining the complexity of the immigration issue, Naso hopes that the limits established by Italian laws and those established by the Treaties that Italy has signed, will not be exceeded. Naso also stated that, in the current circumstances, even a Federation of churches has the duty to recall if not to humanity, at least to the law.
