Gozo Bishop Mario Grech wants his diocese to offer “tangible help” to irregular immigrants and has appointed a commission to propose ideas.

During a homily in Għajnsielem last Sunday, Mgr Grech said the commission was tasked with coming up with a pastoral plan for how the Gozo Church could help in the area of immigration.

He said the Commission, headed by Fr Manuel Cordina, should present its recommendations in two months’ time.

Sources close to the Gozo diocese yesterday told Times of Malta the Church had been toying with the idea of having an open centre for irregular immigrants and asylum seekers in Gozo.

Our faith and solidarity needs to be translated into action

The Church in Malta, mostly through the Emigrants Commission and the Jesuit Refugee Service, already offers a raft of services to immigrants, including an open centre in Balzan.

However, these services are practically nonexistent in Gozo even though the presence of immigrants is on the increase there.

Asked about this, Mgr Grech said it was still very premature to speak about concrete projects, although he was not excluding anything. “We want to help in a tangible way, which is why I’ve appointed this commission to see what we can do. It is still premature to speak about projects as I prefer to wait until the commission presents its suggestions,” he said.

“We need a pastoral plan on this issue. The phenomenon is also reaching Gozo and it is easy to see that many migrants are also present in our society.

“We need to know whether their rights are being respected, whether they are leading a decent life and help them to integrate. This is also the Church’s mission and this is why we’re taking this issue seriously,” Mgr Grech said.

Stating clearly that the story of “God’s people” was one closely associated with migration and asylum, Mgr Grech said many Maltese had still not realised that the presence of irregular migration could be a moment of grace to them as well as the immigrants.

“This is a challenge and an opportunity, not only for us Maltese and Gozitans, but also for the rest of Europe – we need a serious European policy on how to deal with migration,” he said.

Mgr Grech said that while many seemed to be living in a bubble, there were those who needed help.

“Our faith and solidarity needs to be translated into action,” he said.