{"id":101759,"date":"2026-07-31T21:30:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=101759"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:30:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:30:40","slug":"church-in-spain-grapples-with-sudden-illegal-arrival-of-50000-migrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/church-in-spain-grapples-with-sudden-illegal-arrival-of-50000-migrants\/","title":{"rendered":"Church in Spain grapples with sudden illegal arrival of 50,000 migrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Catholic Church is responding to the illegal arrival within the span of just a few hours of nearly 50,000 migrants<\/a> in the Spanish city of Ceuta, located on the North African coast, by mobilizing resources for the diocesan migrant ministry.<\/p>\n

The Diocese of C\u00e1diz and Ceuta, led by Apostolic Administrator Ram\u00f3n Valdivia (auxiliary bishop of Seville), expressed in una declaraci\u00f3n <\/a>its \u201cdeep concern regarding the gravity of the events and the particular vulnerability of so many people affected by this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The diocese reiterated its readiness \u201cto collaborate with civil institutions and competent bodies\u201d to address \u201cany needs that may arise.\u201d<\/p>\n

In support of this commitment, the diocese has directed that the entirety of the collections taken up this weekend in Ceuta\u02bcs parishes be allocated to the diocesan migrant ministry in order to channel aid through the San Antonio Migrant Care Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank the faithful and all people of goodwill in advance for their generosity, and we invite Christian communities to pray earnestly for those who are suffering, for those responsible for managing this situation, and for all who work to build paths of peace, justice, and hope,\u201d the statement concludes.<\/p>\n

On social media the bishops\u2019 Commission for Social Pastoral Care and Human Promotion of the Spanish Bishops\u2019 Conference called for \u201cmeasures addressing this situation to be taken within the framework of current law, with respect for human dignity, and avoiding manipulation for partisan ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Court ruling that precipitated the surge<\/h2>\n

Migrants are entering Spanish territory by swimming around the Tarajal breakwater, a border structure that extends into the sea located south of the autonomous city of Ceuta continuing the border fence that separates the Spanish town from Moroccan territory on land. The crossing, which can sometimes last for hours, is fraught with danger; Spanish authorities have already reported the recovery of more than 40 bodies.<\/p>\n

On June 29, Spain\u2019s Supreme Court issued a ruling<\/a> rejecting the practice of \u201chot returns\u201d (summary expulsions) applied to migrants intercepted at sea who attempt to swim into the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla in Africa.<\/p>\n

The high court determined that this method of illegal entry into the country takes place without getting over any border barrier as occurs when scaling a border fence and therefore the Law on Immigration\u2019s Tenth Additional Provision cannot be applied.<\/p>\n

The referenced section of the regulation stipulates that foreign nationals detected at the border line of demarcation of the territory of Ceuta or Melilla while attempting to get over a border barrier in order to enter illegally \u201cmay be turned back to prevent their illegal entry into Spain."<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court ruling further stated that \u201cnothing would prevent\u201d the application of this provision for automatic return \u201cwere containment measures to be established at sea to protect the border line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calls to exclude Spain from Europe\u02bcs Schengen Area<\/h2>\n

The president of the autonomous city of Ceuta, Juan Jes\u00fas Vivas, requested that the central government on the Spanish mainland declare a national emergency so that Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez could assume unified command of the situation and adopt \u201cdecisive\u201d measures.<\/p>\n

However, the request was rejected, even though the current situation involves a volume of arrivals many times greater than the last migratory wave the city experienced in 2021 when a group of around 12,000 people arrived, a figure nearly four times smaller.<\/p>\n

The vulnerability of the borders of Spain\u2019s African territories has led Italy and Finland to back a proposal to exclude Spain from the Schengen Area, the zone of free movement for people that comprises 29 European countries.<\/p>\n

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente<\/a> por ACI Prensa, el servicio hermano en espa\u00f1ol de EWTN News. Ha sido traducido y adaptado por EWTN News English.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ewtnnews.com\/world\/europe\/church-in-spain-grapples-with-sudden-illegal-arrival-of-50-000-migrants<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Catholic Church is responding to the illegal arrival within the span of just a few hours of nearly 50,000 migrants in the Spanish city of Ceuta, located on the North African coast, by mobilizing resources for the diocesan migrant ministry. The Diocese of C\u00e1diz and Ceuta, led by Apostolic Administrator Ram\u00f3n Valdivia (auxiliary bishop 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Newsroom, Aug 15, 2025 \/ 11:13 am (CNA). A new initiative launched by the Catholic Diocese of San Diego and its interfaith partners is offering accompaniment and a spiritual presence for\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abChristian News\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"San Diego Diocese offers prayerful accompaniment at immigration hearings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/San-Diego-Diocese-offers-prayerful-accompaniment-at-immigration-hearings.webp?fit=800%2C514&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/San-Diego-Diocese-offers-prayerful-accompaniment-at-immigration-hearings.webp?fit=800%2C514&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/San-Diego-Diocese-offers-prayerful-accompaniment-at-immigration-hearings.webp?fit=800%2C514&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/San-Diego-Diocese-offers-prayerful-accompaniment-at-immigration-hearings.webp?fit=800%2C514&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79397,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/catholic-church-in-spain-creates-department-for-relations-with-islam\/","url_meta":{"origin":101759,"position":4},"title":"Catholic Church in Spain creates department for relations with Islam","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"marzo 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The standing committee of the Spanish Bishops\u2019 Conference (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) has approved the creation of a department for relations with Islam, intended to address the growth of the country\u2019s Muslim population.This new body is part of the Bishops\u2019 Subcommittee for Interconfessional Relations and Interreligious Dialogue, chaired by\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abChristian News\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":101584,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/catholic-priest-sues-u-s-government-as-processing-delays-complicate-visa-residency\/","url_meta":{"origin":101759,"position":5},"title":"Catholic priest sues U.S. government as processing delays complicate visa, residency","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"julio 31, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A Nigerian-born Catholic priest serving in the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, sued the federal government after facing delays in processing his request for permanent residency, which has culminated in the expiration of his religious work visa and work authorization.Father Sylvester Okoh, who was serving in the diocesan hospital ministry\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abChristian News\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","mfb_rest_fields":["title","jetpack_publicize_connections","jetpack-related-posts","jetpack_sharing_enabled","jetpack_featured_media_url"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101759"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101780,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101759\/revisions\/101780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101759"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=101759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}