The Role of Catholic Organization in Refugee Policies in Italy: Empirical Evidences from Lombardy

In Lombardy, Northern Italy, the Catholic Church and its collateral organizations have always had a strong role in socio-assistance activities towards both native citizens and foreigners. While the regional and local governments have promoted the role of private religious actors in the production of welfare services (e.g. in the regional health system), they have a more adversarial attitude towards Catholic organizations for what concerns the activities in favor of migrants. Nonetheless, the religious actors are able and willing to use the social capital they gained with their activities to advocate inclusive migration policies. This paper analyzes the case of the province of Pavia, where in 2013 and 2014 the local episcopate had a decisive role in the approval of a project for joining the national Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees, that had been coldly received by many town councils of the Province.