The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council’s Briefing for November is now up on the website. The Briefing covers issues of Catholic social teaching in November 2015, highlighting resources, media items and diary events. It can be read here.
From the Secretariat, John Ferguson:
That tragic image of the little boy Aylan Kurdi whose drowned body was found on a Turkish beach in early September opened the mind of people around the globe to the disastrous situation of Syrian and other refugees streaming into Europe from Turkey, Lebanon and elsewhere. His death jolted the national conscience. Reports of the thousands of asylum seekers looking for refuge in Europe then became real and personal. To his credit, the former prime minister announced a one-off increase of 12,000 places for Syrians and Iraqis in the humanitarian intake…
The extra places should be taken as an important first step in lifting Australia’s humanitarian intake to better reflect the global increase in the need for protection.
But if we are moved to act by the death of Aylan, we must also be moved to act for the children Australia continues to hold offshore. This is not ‘misguided altruism’. This is about human rights.
