Panel: ENTANGLED ENCOUNTERS: MATERIAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN EUROPE



647.4 - SUFFERING, THE CROSS, AND GOD'S SOLIDARITY: MOLTMANN'S CRUCIFIED GOD AND UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS

AUTHORS:
Okafor A. (KU Leuven ~ Leuven ~ Belgium)
Text:
Situated at the intersection of Christology, material religion, and the lived realities of undocumented migrants, the paper explores the relational Christology of Jürgen Moltmann as a theological framework for engaging the suffering and hope of migrants, expressed in the religious materiality of Lampedusa. Arguing that Christology emerges not only from doctrinal formulations but also through engagement with concrete human vulnerability, the paper asks whether Moltmann's account of divine solidarity in The Crucified God can respond meaningfully to the conditions of those who risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean. Following Pope Francis's denunciation of the 'globalization of indifference' during his 2013 visit to Lampedusa, numerous faith-based organizations have emerged, demonstrating practical commitment to solidarity and Christian responsibility toward undocumented migrants arriving at its shores. Thus, Lampedusa occupies a central place in this inquiry. As a key gateway to Europe, Lampedusa has become a site where the story of migrants has inscribed its materiality, as evident in boat fragments repurposed into crosses, altars, and grave markers fashioned from debris of crossings. These material religious practices, this paper argues, constitute a distinctive site for theological reflection. By exploring Moltmann's Christology alongside this material culture, this paper, therefore, points to how the religious objects of Lampedusa enact a form of divine solidarity that goes beyond doctrines. It seeks to demonstrate how the material objects mediate encounters between migrants, communities, and God. The paper concludes that such practices simultaneously reconfigure Christian symbols and unsettle prevailing European imaginaries of belonging, responsibility, and faith, thus suggesting that crucified migrants (of Lampedusa) demand not only humanitarian response but also theological reckoning.