In mid-September 2015 in Lisbon, a Catholic non-profit called Casa Velha, a farm for Ecology and Spirituality, in partnership with the Fundação Gonçalo da Silveira, the Ignatian Ecology Network, FEC (the development agency of the Portuguese Bishops Conference) and ECCLESIA (the media agency of the Catholic Church in Portugal) held a Conference introducing Laudato si’ "to share what the Encyclical brings as new approaches and also the main challenges if offers to society in general, to the Church, to the scientific community, to politicians…”

Michael Czerny S.J. was one of the speakers and, on that occasion, he was interviewed by Fernanda Cancio of the Diário de Notícias, Lisbon’s principal daily. The hard-hitting interview touched on many controversial topics, including food, energy, population (of course: over-population), birth control, AIDS and condoms – but perhaps the most difficult and relevant topic was the thousands migrating into Europe from impoverished Africa and the war-torn Middle East.

Here is that section of the interview, thanks to the fine translation of James Sheppard S.J.:

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There is fear of refugees:

but what is the alternative, just send them back?

Michael Czerny is a Jesuit priest and an advisor to the Pope. He maintains that the solution to the drama of refugees consists in dialogue between the parties concerned, including, if possible, the self-proclaimed Islamic State of the Levant.

The Pope appealed to the parishes of Europe that they should each accept one family of refugees. Is the Vatican going to do something directly to help them?

I don’t think so, even though the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in which I work does not deal with this question. It is a matter to be dealt with by European bishops. I know it’s confusing because the Vatican is situated in Europe. But if we had a crisis of refugees in Korea, nobody would ask what the Vatican was going to do. As a symbolic gesture, however, since we (the Vatican) have two parishes, each one will receive a family.

Isn’t the Vatican able to accept more than two?

Well, if every parish in Europe were to accept one family, soon we would see if the Vatican could accept more.

In terms of the root causes, what do you think can be done? 

I think, if we were to formulate a strategy, it would be one of negotiations between all the interested parties.

Including negotiating with the self-proclaimed Islamic State?

To negotiate with whoever might be disposed to do so.

The Islamic State certainly is not.

Yes, but there are other countries involved who are interested in sending arms and fighters. When there is involvement by other countries, it is possible we may not get to the belligerents themselves, but we can get to their supporters and allies, to find a solution and pressure (the belligerents). Realistically, that we can do.

Do you think it’s realistic to hope the situation can be righted without sending in armies? This is the first time in a long, long while that Europe has been involved in a religious war – if this is indeed a religious war.

You could say that it’s common for conflicts to have religious aspects, but I doubt that we have ever had, in modern times, a truly religious war. That would be a very frightening prospect.

Since this conflict with the Islamic State supposedly has a religious character to it, should we not hope that a religious leader would speak out on the subject?

Alright, speaking out is not always the best or most helpful way. For example, in the case of re-activating the relations between the United States and Cuba on which the Pope did work, there were no public declarations in advance. Had there been, it would probably have led nowhere.

But this was a process that followed diplomatic channels.

Yes, that’s true. We can always try to open channels of communication. The Holy Father is probably working hard behind the scenes. But in this instance to speak out, to say ‘someone ought to do this or that’, would not be helpful. We do not know what the Pope is doing or is about to do, but this does not mean he is not doing anything – there may be a lot of things.

On the other hand, does not the idea of accepting hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees in Europe frighten the Catholic Church?

I think not. The response of the Church is not that people should be Catholic or Muslim, white or black. To ask ahead of time what you are, or which statistical category you will increase or diminish, is not the right way to show leadership in a human disaster. If we have a family that needs help, be it Muslim indeed, what they need is a place to live, to survive.

What comes to mind is what Benedict XVI said of the Muslim religion at Regensburg: that it is a fighting religion, one of war.

I would not link this situation to that occasion, which was, by the way, widely misunderstood. Instead, I think that welcoming the refugees and being generous is a good contribution. And I also believe there will have to be much reconciliation, much mutual understanding.

But there is a reaction of fear, which cannot be ignored.

Yes, there is fear, it is true. But what is the alternative? Send them all back? We must have hope. It is a very difficult situation, for which there is probably no one, single, complete answer, but perhaps ten thousand or a hundred thousand little answers. Twenty years from now, we may look back and see that this was a turning point because through this crisis things changed. So let us welcome them.