One pope, two churches: Refugees, human rights and religion in Croatia and Italy

Abstract

This article analyses the responses of the Catholic Church in Croatia and Italy to the refugee crisis, particularly the churches’ discourses on human rights issues and positions in public debates on refugees and migrants. Although both Catholic churches followed the Church’s teachings on ‘strangers’, associated with providing concrete help to people in need, the Catholic Church in Croatia pursued what can be classified as a charitable approach, while the Catholic Church in Italy followed solidarity and utilitarian approaches. Equally, the Catholic Church in Croatia remained a silent public actor in the refugee crisis, while the Catholic Church in Italy became a prominent actor in public debates, engaging with human rights discourses. The selective and ambivalent uses of human rights discourses emerged as a factor in understanding these two churches’ different positions on refugees and migrants.