ITV newsreader Julie Etchingham is one of 7,000 Catholics who have sent messages of solidarity to refugee families fleeing their homes in Syria and Iraq.
Etchingham, who has reported on the global refugee crisis and is an ambassador for the Catholic aid agency Cafod, said those affected are always in her family’s prayers.
Her message, one of thousands collected from 130 parishes and schools, reads: “May God keep you, comfort you and at the end of your journey give you peace, hope and love and a warm, safe home.”
The initiative, organised by Cafod, the Jesuit Refugee Service and Caritas Social Action Network, hopes to follow the Pope’s lead and reach out in mercy to vulnerable people. The short notes will be dedicated at a service in December as an act of worship to mark the end of the Year of Mercy and will be shared with refugees both in the UK and abroad.
Cafod is also raising money for the practical needs of displaced people and has raised £4.5 million for those seeking asylum both in Europe and the Middle East.
The number of displaced people across the world is now at a record high, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, with 4.9 million people and 2.7 million people having fled from Syria and Afghanistan respectively.
More than 1 million people arrived in Europe by sea last year, with numbers having reached over 265,000 so far in 2016. In excess of 3,100 people died or went missing crossing the Mediterranean in 2015.
Parishes and schools have also been taking part in pilgrimages with crosses made by Sicilian carpenter Francesco Tuccio from the driftwood of wrecked boats in which refugees have journeyed – sometimes fatally.
Each Catholic cathedral in England and Wales has received one of the Lampedusa crosses, so named after the Italian island where thousands of people have reached Europe.
Daniel Hale, Head of Campaigns at Cafod, said it was uplifting to know that many Catholics are acting on the Pope’s call to show welcome, respect and love to refugees. “The sheer number of messages written with such moving and compassionate words is inspiring,” he said.
The news of the Catholic Church’s response to Cafod’s appeal came as a chief child protection agency in the Calais refugee camp also known as ‘the Jungle’, said the situation for vulnerable and unaccompanied children is worsening daily.
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