Deacon Greg Lowe, Director of the Western Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (WACMRO) said, “It is not a time to inflict harsh measures on people who already face many challenges as they seek employment. Making people destitute does not help them find a job.”
“The caring and sensible step to take is to reverse this policy and ensure access to the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) for all people seeking asylum until a resolution of their status is complete.”
Read the joint statement here…
Media Release from Church Leaders on World Refugee Day 2018
For more information, use the links below…
“This not about sharing a burden. It is about sharing a global responsibility, based not only the broad idea of our common humanity but also on the very specific obligations of international law. The root problems are war and hatred, not people who flee; refugees are among the first victims of terrorism.” — UN Secretary-General, António Guterres
A group of rescued people on the deck of an Italian naval vessel as the sun sets in the Mediterranean. ©UNHCR/A. D’Amato
ACBC Social Justice Statement Prayer 2015/16:
A Prayer for Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
God of mercy, help me to remember: My ancestors came across the seas!
Help me keep in my mind those who came long ago, and those who now come to our shores.
As I face you in prayer, God of Compassion, I remember my country’s words:
‘Send them back or Stop the boats’.
Then I fear, not your anger but the steady gaze of boundless love and unlimited compassion
That impel me to hear Jesus’ command: ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’
Or Pope Francis’ call to ‘open our hearts to a universal communion’ which excludes nothing and no one.
Daring to step into such relationship, I pray for those forced to leave family, home and all they hold dear; May they find safe passage and helping hands.
I pray for an end to the wars and oppression that forced them to leave;
I pray that those who welcome them are blessed in abundance, and with deep humility and a heart hungry for justice, I pray that we Australians, citizens and leaders,
Open our eyes, our minds and our hearts that we may see, understand and welcome our brothers and sisters.
May our change of heart penetrate to our beginnings as strangers in this land.
May we allow those we displaced – the First People of this land – to welcome us.
Then knowing, in humility, what it is to be welcomed, we will know how to welcome the strangers who come to our shores.
This we ask in the name of Jesus your Son, in whom we are no longer strangers.
Amen.
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council: www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au
