Refugees & Asylum Seekers

A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization - all typical of a throwaway culture - towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world

Pope Francis, World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2014

Touched by God’s mercy and compassion and fired by the inspiration of the Gospel and Catherine McAuley, Sisters of Mercy accompany, advocate, educate and collaborate with others, for and on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers

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The Church’s principles of human dignity, a special concern for the poor and solidarity, and our Mercy charism, both call us and challenge us to hear the cries of all persons who are refugees and asylum seekers, offer them understanding and acceptance, support them, and work with them and others to expose and eradicate the injustice, indignity and violence that they suffer. We are reminded by Pope Francis that ‘every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age’ ( Pope Francis, World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2018)

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