Church speaks up for refugees

Bishop Patrick Lynch met this week with the government minister responsible for refugee resettlement to discuss the role the Church could play in the ongoing crisis.

The meeting in London came as bishops from the UK and Europe assured Christians caught up in the Middle Eastern crisis that they are not forgotten.

Representatives of the Coordination of Bishops’ Conferences in support of the Church in the Holy Land have just completed visits to the region including refugee camps in Jordan, the Christian settlement of Beit Jala near Bethlehem and the blockaded enclave of Gaza.  

One of the group, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham William Kenney, said: “It is important for people to know they are not forgotten. We are not politicians, we are not in charge of governments, we can’t force governments to do what we want, but what we are saying all the time is that other Christians have not forgotten you, we are praying for you.”

Bishop Lynch, the bishop for migrants, and Richard Harrington, the minister with responsibility for Syrian refugees, met on Monday and were due to convene again later this week to discuss the Church’s involvement in Britain’s resettlement scheme for Syrian refugees.

“The Catholic community in England and Wales also has a responsibility to provide practical assistance wherever possible and always to extend the hand of welcome,” said the bishop in a statement on Tuesday. “The UK has rightly taken responsibility for resettling some of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees.”