As Australian women and children return from Syria this week, the moment presents an opportunity for a deeper reflection on how we live together as a society, says Catholic Social Services Australia chief executive Jerry Nockles.
More than a dozen women and children with links to former ISIS fighters began arriving in Australia yesterday, nearly two weeks after leaving a refugee camp in Syria, ABC News reported.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt held a press conference in Canberra, announcing the women arrested in Melbourne would be charged with crimes against humanity, including enslavement.
Dr Nockles said a person is always more than the worst thing they have done. He referred to a quote from Pope Leo, who said, “No human being is defined only by his or her actions”.
“We must understand that every human being has inherent, inviolable, and inalienable dignity. This compels us to look through their actions and recognise and respect that dignity,” Dr Nockles said.
“This does not mean that individuals are not answerable for their actions, but as Pope Leo reminds us, ‘Justice is always a process of reparation’. This challenges us to see beyond labels to acknowledge the potential for renewal and healing in every individual.
“To leave these families in exile violates our sense of justice – to do so out of political expediency offends our values.
“At the core of our social cohesion challenge is a failure to acknowledge a timeless truth – that every person is made lovingly in the image and likeness of God and has dignity – a dignity we must recognise and respect always and everywhere.
“Racism, antisemitism, lslamophobia, xenophobia – these are all symptoms of the same disease: a failure to recognise and respect human dignity.
“We cannot address these issues in isolation. We must relearn the ability to look through difference, to look through failure, to look through fear, and to recognise the divine spark in every other human being,” Dr Nockles said.
CSSA urged the country’s political leaders to “consider what it truly means to uphold Australian values” and “whether this includes the wholesale rejection of citizens who have made terrible choices”.
“The measure of our society is not how we treat those who have done right, but how we respond to those who have erred. A just society balances accountability with mercy, recognising that redemption is possible for all.”
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Repatriation of families from Syria (CSSA)
Three ISIS-linked women arrested after arriving back in Australia from Syria via Doha (ABC News)
