28th
January 2001
When preaching in the Cathedral of Ss. Eunan and Columba on Sunday 28th January,
Bishop
Boyce spoke of the attitude we should have towards refugees.
“Today, I
would like to put the consideration before you concerning the Christian love we
ought to show towards the stranger. In particular, I mean the person who comes
looking for a safe place to work and live in our country. Some come to get work
and earn money, often for their families at home. Others are fleeing some kind
of persecution. They are called asylum seekers until they are given permission
to stay and work in our land. When that permission is granted they are called
refugees.
The
nations of the world are all concerned about this problem. Fifty years ago last
month, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was set
up. Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has the problem of displaced people very
much at heart. Some countries have hundreds of thousands of families spilling
over their borders seeking safety from political persecution and death. We in
Ireland have for the most part people who wish to come to live and work, or flee
from poverty and a certain lack of freedom in their homelands. In Donegal we do
not have many asylum seekers or foreign workers or refugees. Asylum seekers
often find this Northwest end of the country too remote, and they drift back to
centres of greater population, in or near Dublin. However, the experience of
those we have had or who are still with us has been generally positive. They
appreciated the welcome shown them by local people. This is something to be
commended and it deserves praise. It is our Christian duty to continue our
traditional attitude of friendliness and welcome to all, in particular to those
who are homeless and in need of help.
We
ourselves for many generations have sent sons and daughters to countries such as
Britain, the United States and Australia. We almost took it for granted, at
least we thought it only right that they would be given work permits and allowed
to earn a living for themselves and send money back home to help those in need.
Indeed, there are more people of Irish descent living in foreign lands than
there are living are home.
Now,
when other people from poorer nations (no matter what colour or creed) appear in
our streets or factories or offices or hospitals, we should treat them with the
respect due to every human person. They are all created in the image of God. If
we do not have enough children of our own who are able and willing to meet the
needs of our country, we should accept these people from abroad with gratitude.
And we should be generous to as many people as we can accommodate and who are in
need, sharing with them the wealth that is ours at this time, and treating them
all with respect and Christian charity.
Of course, what happens often is that people fear the presence of too many from other cultures. If they increase excessively in numbers they fear a confrontation with a different culture that could threaten established patterns of life here at home. “People who were viewed with sympathy yesterday because they were still far off (as we looked at them on our TV screens) are turned away today because they are too close and imposing.” Thus people become indifferent to the plight of refugees and foreigners in our country. Solidarity and Christian charity help to reverse this tendency to fear and indifference. These Christian virtues ‘urge us towards a more sober lifestyle with a view of contributing to the common good, and make possible a more effective response to the just appeals of refugees.’
“The
harsh experience of forced exile is also found in the Bible. Joseph’s brothers
went down into Egypt, driven by a devastating famine (Cf. Gen. 42:1-3); the
people of Judah, defeated in war, were ‘taken into exile out of their land’
(2 Kings 25:21); Joseph took Jesus and his mother and fled by night to Egypt
because king Herod was searching for the child to destroy him (Cf. Mt.
2:13-15).” In today’s Mass, the Psalmist puts his trust in God to whom he
flees for shelter: “In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put
to shame. Be a rock of refuge where I can take refuge, a mighty stronghold to
save me.” (Ps. 70)
“The first place for the Church’s attention to refugees remains the parish community, which has the task of sensitising its members to the plight of refugees, exhorting them to welcome as Jesus taught: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me’ (Mt 25:35). It should not view the new arrivals as a threat to its cultural identity and well-being, but as an incentive to walk together with these new brothers and sisters who are themselves rich in particular gifts, in an ever-new process of forming a new people capable of celebrating its unity in diversity. Benevolence, respect and sharing are practical expressions of a culture of solidarity and hospitality. The Christian community must overcome fear and suspicion towards refugees, and be able to see them in the Saviour’s face.”
(Pontifical Councils Cor Unum and For the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Refugees: A Challenge to Solidarity (1992), No. 27, Cf. No. 1)
With the increased number of immigrants over the next five years (it is forecast that together with returning Irish, there will be 300,000) there will be a certain intermingling of customs, arising from various cultures. In such a changing society, respect for the dignity of the human person is a basic ethical principle to be observed at all times. Another principle is the common good of the Irish people themselves. What lies before us is the challenge to combine these two principles: openness to others and care of values we already possess.
Pope
John Paul II indicated the way forward in his Message for the World Day of
Peace in the first day of this present month. He said: “As long as a
culture is truly alive, it need have no fear of being displaced. And no law
could keep it alive if it were already dead in people’s hearts. In the
dialogue between cultures, no side can be prevented from proposing to the other
the values in which it believes, as long as this is done in a way that is
respectful of people’s freedom and conscience. ‘Truth can be imposed only
with the force of truth itself, which penetrates the mind both gently and
powerfully’” (John
Paul II, Message for World Day of Peace, 1January 2001, No. 15)
May we continue to keep alive the values of our culture – language, customs, faith, and friendliness – while we show respect, generosity and solidarity to those who are strangers or refugees in our midst.”