On Tuesday, 13 October, from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm, the Study Day “Mental Health and Pastoral Care in Humanitarian Settings” will take place in the Van Thuan Room at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The hybrid event is organised by Universidade Católica Portuguesa and the Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI), in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

The initiative seeks to address a critical issue affecting many local Churches today. In contexts marked by humanitarian crises, individuals and communities often face conflict, displacement, loss, prolonged uncertainty and the disruption of relationships and everyday life, with profound consequences for mental health and well-being. Local Churches accompany people living through these realities on a daily basis, and these concerns are increasingly becoming part of pastoral life itself.

In response, the Dicastery initiated a process of dialogue and reflection in 2024, bringing together Catholic organisations, religious congregations and international experts. Field experiences were gathered and analysed by a group of specialists, under the auspices of Universidade Católica Portuguesa and SIMI, and consolidated into a document that will be shared with participants and made publicly available after the event.

The Study Day will bring into dialogue the realities experienced in humanitarian settings, the pastoral experience of the Church, Christian anthropology and spirituality, and relevant expertise in mental health. It will also contribute to a broader process focused on three interconnected areas: the relationship between pastoral care and mental health; ways of implementing the document in pastoral care; and the tools to be developed to support pastoral workers.

The speakers will include Peter Hanenberg, Vice-Rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa; Monsignor Jozef Barlaš, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; and Archbishop Joseph Tobji, of the Maronite Archeparchy of Aleppo, Syria. Drawing on his pastoral experience, Archbishop Tobji will reflect on what it means for the Church to accompany individuals and communities through years of conflict and suffering. Márcio Gagliato, a specialist in global mental health and humanitarian action, will present the final document, briefly outlining the process through which it was developed and the reflection it seeks to foster on mental health and pastoral care.

During the reflection session, Fr Aldo Skoda, C.S., of the Scalabrini International Migration Institute – Pontifical Urbaniana University; Pascale Debbane, an official of the Dicastery; and Joseph Kelly (CR4E, Catholic Response for Emergencies) will offer complementary perspectives, reflecting on what humanitarian realities reveal about mental health and human suffering, as well as the responses required in pastoral care.

The event will be held in English and Italian. Online participation will be available via Zoom, with simultaneous interpretation into Italian, Spanish and English.