Government asylum plans ‘incompatible’ with Catholic social teaching, says bishops’ agency

Anti-migrant policies fuel violence and threaten the very fabric of churches in England and Wales, Csan has warned

The domestic agency of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales, Caritas Social Action Network, has expressed “grave concerns” over the government’s new asylum plans.

Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), has released a statement on International Migrants Day in response to government asylum proposals published last month that will raise additional barriers to asylum seekers remaining in Britain.

The proposed policies would quadruple the wait before those with refugee status can access permanent settlement from five to 20 years.

The right to family reunion will be ended and the forced removal of adults and families increased. Rights to safety nets against destitution will also be removed.

Csan says the plans are incompatible with Catholic social teaching around migration, which affirms the right to migrate, whether for safety or to seek a better life.

Csan says, “These policies turn the right to be treated with dignity – to have food, shelter, safety, relationships – into something that has to be earned, not something that stems from our being made in the image of Christ.”

The statement emphasises how the Church has been active in affirming the dignity of people on the move throughout history, and will continue to do so in the face of increasingly exclusionary Government policies and the anti-migrant sentiment it fosters.

Anti-migrant policies and sentiment fuel violence and threaten the very fabric of churches in England and Wales, which are themselves made up already of diverse communities that have been enriched by people on the move throughout history, Csan adds.

“The Government’s anti-refugee and anti-migrant policies embolden and give legitimacy to political movements and leaders whose ideology is rooted in racism, including islamophobia and antisemitism. They create a climate in which racist and xenophobic violence is allowed to flourish, threatening individuals’ safety and the cohesion of our communities. This climate also fuels hostility to those who work to uphold the dignity of migrants and refugees, including Catholic charities.

“These emboldened movements seek to fracture the unity of the Church in the UK which has been enriched throughout history by migrants of faith. The statement makes it clear that movements and leaders who utilise the season of Christmas to further anti-migrant and racist ideologies and agendas are working in opposition to scripture and the teaching of the Church.”

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