The leader of the Church in Ireland has called for the conversation on refugees and migrants to “mature up” as he expressed concern over the “myths and falsehoods” pedalled on social media. Source: The Tablet.
Armagh Archbishop Eamon Martin revealed that at the beginning of October he will host a gathering for Northern Ireland’s parishes and dioceses, “to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of embracing the stranger”.
He expressed concern over “some very worrying and vexing scenes” south of the border and north of the border in recent months.
Ireland at the moment, according to the Primate of All Ireland, is “being challenged by the reality of the displacement of people across the world”.
“Maybe we are waking up to the fact that so many people around the world are not able to live in their own places for reasons of war or violence and in some places due to the ravages of climate change and the destruction and exploitation of the environment.
“Suddenly in the last number of years we have been faced with large numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers. We have had the huge contribution of migrants who have come here to work and to contribute to our health services and various other hospitality services around Ireland.”
He believes it is important for people of faith to reflect on the challenges this presents and also the opportunities.
“Many of the newcomers to Ireland are people of faith, they want to be part of our parish communities and maybe we are not quite set up to welcome them, integrate them and make them part of our community,” he commented.
Archbishop Martin expressed concern over the representation of refugees and asylum-seekers on social media as “violent people, as spongers, as people who have nothing to bring”.
“Yet if we go to our hospitals, if we go to our hotels, we are very grateful to have people who are working and keeping our facilities going. I feel it is really important for us to raise awareness because there are a lot of myths and a lot of falsehoods out there.”
FULL STORY
Archbishop Martin calls for more maturity in conversations over migrants and refugees (By Sarah Mac Donald, The Tablet)
