Parishes urged to be more welcoming to migrants

As incidents of racism increase, Irish parishes are urged to be more welcoming

Parishes are being urged to play a fundamental role in making migrants and refugees feel more welcome in Irish society.

In a resource pack for parishes celebrating World Day for Migrants and Refugees next Sunday, Bishop Raymond Field encouraged parishes to reach out to offer support to migrants in their community. He said that mental health difficulties “are the unspoken injury afflicting whole swathes of the migrant community”, and urged parishes to highlight the issue “bringing it from the periphery of people’s consciousness, so that through dialogue and improved collective awareness people can receive comfort, security and support from their community and parish”.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland reported late last year that the number of racist incidents reported to them had increased by 51% during 2014. Their founder, Sr Stan Kennedy told The Irish Catholic that “racism was the biggest single issue facing Europe” at the moment, and this was a challenge society must “take on”, with parishes in an ideal position to lead the way.

“I think Ireland has a great opportunity to become a model of welcoming migrants and refugees in Europe, because we still have a community spirit in parishes to welcome strangers, and integrate them in the best possible way,” she said.

Welcoming

Michael O’Sullivan, who works in the Columbans’ outreach centre to migrants in Dublin city, said “most people are not racist, but maybe are not as welcoming as they think they are”.

“The problem is people take it for granted that people are settling in and don’t move outside their comfort zone to make some effort to reach out,” he said.

“People in parishes and local communities should not underestimate the importance of simple things like organising welcoming coffee mornings, doing something to mark festivals or national days of people from new communities, anything that would help people to feel they are welcomed.”