The following letter was sent by the Moderator of the Tavola Valdese on behalf of Italian Waldensians to the American Waldensian Society, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church of America, and the United Church of Christ (Disciples of Christ). The letter is described as a response of “solidarity from the Tavola Valdese (Waldensian Board) regarding the shocking events in Minneapolis in recent days.”
American Waldensian Society
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Reformed Church in America
United Church of Christ and Christian Church
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
The images of children detained by ICE agents, together with reports of thousands of immigrants brutally hunted down, arrested, and deported, have hurt and humiliated us. We have witnessed a political action towards migrants and asylum seekers that is devoid of mercy and compassion, full of violence against the sons and daughters of God who have come to the United States to seek work and build a future of dignity and security for themselves and their children.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who made love the center of his preaching, we reject any attempt to give moral or theological justification to policies that violate the dignity of human beings. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us to have compassion towards those who are marginalized and discriminated against, we affirm the primacy of life and respect for the rights of every human being, especially those in fragile and vulnerable conditions. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, who preached justice, we call for laws that respect the dignity of migrants, protect the safety of their children, protect women who have left their homes and lands, and open up a horizon of hope for all.
In Italy and Europe, too, we are subjected to racist and violent policies towards migrants. For years, our churches have been committed to ensuring legal and safe immigration routes through “humanitarian corridors” which, promoted and financed by us, have saved thousands of refugees from the risk of traffickers and irregular and extremely risky migrations across the Mediterranean. In the last ten years, at least 30,000 people have died as a result of our migration and so-called security policies. But we know that, given the scale of global migration, even our action is only a small drop in the ocean. The tragedy we are witnessing requires a commitment of exceptional magnitude and significance.
For this reason, we feel close to you and hope to consolidate a partnership in prayer and action in support of the rights and lives of our migrant sisters and brothers. We bid farewell by referring to all of us the words of the prophet Micah: “And what does the Lord require of us? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.”
We stand with you in defending the founding principles of every democracy, countering the widespread tendency to criminalize actions that are simply an expression of the freedom of criticism, protest, and opposition that our history as a discriminated and persecuted minority has taught us to protect, within the framework of a vision of society that values the pluralism of ideas as a resource for the search for fair and just solutions for the peaceful and supportive coexistence of the sons and daughters of God.
For us, this is one of the ways in which we articulate and express our experience as believers. Recognizing the Lord above all other lords is the freedom we receive as a gift and vocation from God.
May God bless you,
Deacon Alessandra Trotta
Moderator of the Tavola Valdese
Alessandra Trotta, the Moderator of the Tavola Valdese, is a former director of the La Noce Diaconal Center in Palermo as well as a former president of OPCEMI (Opera per le chiese evangeliche metodiste in Italia).
