The Catholic bishops have called on parishes throughout the island to mobilise resources to help with the resettlement of migrants who come to Ireland.

They have also called for urgent reform in direct provision for asylum seekers to avoid the emergence of an unjust two-tier system.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the bishops encouraged “all members of our parish communities to explore how they might offer their services, talents, time and commitment to supporting the resettlement of refugees through practical parish actions such as friendship and welcome schemes, English language classes, trauma counselling and medical services, as well as legal advice services”.

Demanding solidarity

They noted how “local communities across the island of Ireland have reacted to the worsening refugee crisis by mobilising to demand greater solidarity from European political leaders. The swift and enthusiastic response to Pope Francis’s appeal to parishes shows a ready willingness to help and a recognition that our parishes need to be places of welcome to all.

“Bishops are working with clergy and other diocesan personnel, as well as faith-based organisations, to assess our capacity to contribute to the national and international response.”

They said that “given the magnitude of the current crisis, refugees will be arriving for months and years to come, and it will be some years before they can safely return to their country of origin. Co-operation and clear sharing of responsibility across relevant Government departments, to address different types of need, is a necessary foundation for strategic planning.”

Leadership needed

They called on Ireland’s political leaders “to use their influence at EU level to minimise delays in getting vulnerable people to safety. We need clear leadership in the form of a renewed international commitment to the right to asylum, which places the dignity and human rights of refugees at the heart of policy decisions.”

Where asylum seekers already in Ireland were concerned they said the recommendations of the working group report on direct provision needed “to be implemented without further delay by the Government”.

A clear priority of the report was “the need to urgently address the situation of people who have been more than five years in the direct provision system,” they noted.

The said that “even before the present crisis, Trócaire has been providing support to 158,000 refugees and displaced people in Syria, Iraq and surrounding countries since 2011”.

Humanitarian assistance

Where Syria was concerned, “Trócaire has provided more than €3 million in humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people within Syria and in Lebanon and Jordan”, they said, urging people to contribute at trocaire.org/refugee-crisis.

They wished “to strongly affirm the work of faith-based organisations in showing leadership, collecting donations and providing vital humanitarian assistance in our dioceses – with the St Vincent de Paul Society standing out as an exemplary charity whose work with refugees has been both swift and sensitive. Its Christian outreach within and without Ireland is an example to all of us.”

They issued a special prayer for refugees for use at Masses and in the home.