This summer, hundreds of people from parishes and communities across the country have shown their solidarity with people seeking safety by writing to the Prime Minister in support of a humane asylum system.
Together with the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) and Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), our campaign to Defend Asylum calls on the government to restore the right to asylum, end immigration detention, and put dignity and protection at the heart of the asylum system.
Find out more about what we’re calling for!
Our friends in the Diocese of Plymouth have joined this campaign wholeheartedly. Alex, Migration Lead at Caritas Plymouth, shares a reflection on the campaign:
The Diocese of Plymouth has enthusiastically supported JRS UK, CSAN, and SVP’s joint Welcome the Stranger: Defend Asylum campaign this summer, recognising the importance of bearing witness to the Gospel by standing with people fleeing conflict and persecution in search of safety and dignity.
Caritas Plymouth distributed over 2,000 campaign postcards to parishes across the diocese, and they’re now coming back in a steady stream, signed and ready for JRS UK to hand to the Government in September.
What’s been lovely to hear is how much the initiative has got people talking and reflecting on the realities that many people seeking sanctuary go through, and what it really means to live out the call to welcome the stranger.
One parishioner told us: “The idea that so many refugees have to undertake perilous sea crossings to find a new life and safety really resonates with me for Laudato Si’, caring for the poor, and the clear consequences of exploiting the planet.”
This campaign is rooted in the Church’s call to welcome, protect, and promote refugees, and to love them as our neighbours. We are grateful to each person who has answered that call across the diocese and is working to support people seeking sanctuary.
One of our favourite stories from the campaign so far comes from St Mary’s Church in Poole. On the Sunday of Refugee Week, 25 children wrote heartfelt messages of welcome to refugees. Each message was tied to a single rose, and the children carried them up through the church to lay them on the altar together, creating a focus for the whole congregation’s prayers.
One parishioner shared that: “It was really beautiful and very moving to see the messages written by the children’s liturgy.”
The children’s simple but moving message of love for our brothers and sisters perfectly expressed the call of Pope Francis to welcome, protect, promote and integrate those forced to seek sanctuary.
The Gospel message to welcome the stranger is strong and clear, and based in love. The Diocese of Plymouth is proud to support this campaign.
Whether through sending a postcard to the Prime Minister calling for a humane asylum system, or by raising awareness in your parish, individuals and communities have helped to ensure that refugee voices are heard.
At the end of September, we will deliver our postcards to the Prime Minister.
If you are interested in joining our campaign to Defend Asylum, send your postcard to JRS UK by the 7th of September!
Don’t have a postcard yet? Order yours, or print one at www.jrsuk.net/defend-asylum
