🧡 REFUGEE WEEK 2025: 16TH - 22ND JUNE

📜Claiming asylum is a human right, enshrined in the customs and treaties of international law to which the UK is party. Yet too often those fleeing violence, oppression, and persecution are met not with compassion but with hostility and are scapegoated as the cause of our societal problems rather than recognised as people seeking sanctuary and hope.

📖Catholic Social Teaching has long affirmed the rights of refugees and migrants. From the apostolic constitution Exsul Familia Nazarethana of Pius XII in 1952 to today, the Church has consistently called on nations to protect those forced to flee their homes.

🇻🇦Pope Francis challenged Christians to reject the prevailing attitudes of indifference and hostility towards migrants and refugees in his 2020 papal encyclical Fratelli Tutti:

💬“Migrants are not seen as entitled like others to participate in the life of society, and it is forgotten that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any person… No one will ever openly deny that they are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human.
For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of our faith: the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love.”

🦺Many of those arriving on UK shores by irregular routes like small boat crossings do so not by choice but because there are no safe or accessible alternatives. If the UK provided more secure and fair pathways for people to claim asylum, these dangerous journeys would not be necessary.

🕊️Justice & Peace Scotland has consistently advocated for a fairer, more humane asylum system and added our voice to the call for greater welcome, safety, and sanctuary for refugees who are first and foremost our sisters and brothers in Christ.

📢This Refugee Week, we continue to stand in solidarity with those forced to flee their homes and encourage our supporters to speak out for a more compassionate asylum system, to challenge the language of fear and division, and to welcome the stranger in our midst.