The Gospels contain important injunctions on welcoming strangers (Matthew 25:35) and helping people in distress (the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37). However, there is much debate within the Churches as to whether these precepts are applicable or inapplicable in our societies. Can states accept that everyone can practise hospitality "without borders"? We often invoke the famous distinction proposed a century ago by the German sociologist Max Weber between:
- on the one hand, the "ethics of conviction", which is an absolute form of ethics inspired by the Gospel, indifferent to the social consequences of one's actions, and,
- on the other hand, the "ethics of responsibility", which involves making viable compromises with the constraints imposed by states, such as the protection of borders or the preservation of national identity.
Pope Francis has been criticised for rejecting the ethics of responsibility in favour of the ethics of conviction when he defended the principle of unconditional hospitality during his trip to Lampedusa and in his encyclical Fratelli tutti.
François Héran will revisit this issue in an attempt to clarify the stakes involved.