THE theme this year is For Those Who’ve Come Across the Seas.
The statement from the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, Chaired by Bishop Vincent Long, an auxiliary in Melbourne,
leads with a quote from Pope Francis.
“Immigrants dying at sea, in boats which were vehicles of hope and became vehicles of death.
That is how the headlines put it. When I first heard of this tragedy a few weeks ago, and realised that it happens all too frequently, it has constantly come back to me like a painful thorn in my heart…These brothers and sisters of ours were trying to escape difficult situations to find some serenity and peace; they were looking for a better place for themselves and their families, but instead they found death. How often do such people fail to find understanding, fail to find acceptance, fail to find solidarity. And their cry rises up to God…Has anyone of us wept for these persons who were on the boat. For the young mothers carrying their babies? For these men who were looking for a means of supporting their families?
We are a society which has forgotten how to weep, how to experience compassion – ‘suffering with’ others: the ion of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep!”
I wrote about the current refugee issue last week where I cautioned about the prudential and organisational issues involved in successful re-
settlement in host countries.
This week, at all Masses, Robert Stewart will speak about a proposal for Saint Bridget’s to play a part in the Christian hospitality for the
Syrian refugees to be resettled in Australia.
Copies of the 2015 Social Justice Statement are available at the rear of the Hall.