From the Archbishop

Archbishop Malcolm has prepared an Easter message which you can read by clicking here

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP has written an Easter message. You can read it by clicking here.

World Day of Prayer for the Sick 2017

To read the Archbishop's message for World Day of prayer for the sick, please click here

Pastoral Letter January 2017

This weekend 28th/29th January we have a pastoral letter from the Archbishop click here to read it.

As we continue to develop a diocesan strategy for how to respond to the current ‘refugee crisis’, it’s helpful to know what the Government’s policy is for those claiming refugee status.

BACKGROUND

Their official web site https://www.gov.uk/claim-asylum/eligibility says:

To be recognised as a refugee, you must:

be unable to go back to your own country (if you’re stateless, this is the country you usually live in) because you fear persecution
be unable to live safely in any part of your own country
have failed to get protection from authorities in your own country

This persecution must be because of one of the following:

race
religion
nationality
political opinion
membership of a particular social group that puts you at risk because of the social, cultural, religious or political situation in your country, eg your gender, gender identity, sexual orientation

These criteria are applied strictly. The process is intended to be completed in no more than six months but often takes years to complete.

SYRIAN REFUGEES

The UK government waived these criteria for a limited group of Syrian refugees when it launched the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) for Syrian refugees in March 2014. Since then, just over 200 people have benefited from the scheme. Last week it increased the targeted number to 20,000 over 5 years while at the same time confirming that there would be no significant change of policy. The official website stated: “the Government believes the UK can add most value through a complementary scheme, focusing on helping the most vulnerable refugees who cannot be supported effectively in the region...” http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06805/SN06805.pdf

LATEST ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT

“The best way to help refugees is to donate cash to humanitarian organisations or charities. Cash donations are the fastest, most efficient way to get help to vulnerable people. ...

Cash donations enable relief agencies to cater to the specific needs of the affected population as quickly as possible. They also allow relief agencies to buy goods in the affected region, helping to regenerate the local economy.

Many international organisations are working in the UK, across Europe and in the countries refugees are fleeing from to provide aid and assistance. Recommended and experienced humanitarian and relief agencies that you can support include:

British Red Cross Appeal
Oxfam
Save the Children’s Child Refugee Crisis Appeal
UNHCR’s Emergency Appeal
UNICEF
The World Food Programme
Refugee Action’s Emergency Appeal – the money raised will support refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK”

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/syria-refugees-what-you-can-do-to-help--2

ARCHDIOCESAN RESPONSE

During the last week a mapping exercise has begun to find out what resources we can offer. The categories we are using are:

ACCOMMODATION	Empty parish properties	Housing Associations	Spare rooms in people’s houses
TRANSLATION	Arabic speakers	Tigrinya speakers	ESOL teachers
MONEY	Rent	Ready cash	Access to benefits
EDUCATION	Access to schools	Adult education
GOODS	Furniture	Cooking equipment	Food	Bedding
MEDICAL	Access to doctors	Access to dentists	Access to opticians	Access to psychological services
INTEGRATION	Friendship	UK culture	Jobs	Transport
SAFEGUARDING	Archdiocese is preparing a briefing
LEGAL SERVICES

It does not seem enough to offer help to only a limited group of people. While applauding the Government’s response in the refugee camps, our Catholic community is called to extend compassion to all: the Pope’s call for us to open our hearts and our doors was not limited to a particular group of refugees.

We must not forget the needs of the refugees who are already here or walking across the world to get here.

‘All the aid in the world will never be able to replace the warmth of assistance rendered by one individual human being to another.’ Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)

OUR PARTNERS

We are working with other faith communities and the local authorities to coordinate our response. We are in conversation with several organisations in our region that have extensive experience of working with asylum seekers and refugees.

NEXT STEPS

In the coming week we would welcome invitations to attend parish or Pastoral Area meetings to analyse the problem, to open up the issues, to hear people’s perspectives, to examine what our faith has to say, to increase knowledge of what is available and to share ideas for how to respond. In this way we can coordinate what we can offer in the service of refugees and respond to Pope Francis’ words: ‘be “neighbours” to the littlest ones, the most abandoned ones ... give them real hope ... Christian hope fights with the tenacity of someone aiming for a definite goal.’