Over 37 years-ago when Annunciation House – a sanctuary and home of hospitality that has served over 100,000 refugees, homeless poor and undocumented workers – was started in El Paso, Texas, founding director Ruben Garcia and a few friends wanted to place themselves among the poor, to see where the poor would lead them. He Read more
There was a very moving scene at the state funeral of Malcolm Fraser in March last year, when Vietnamese Australians thronged outside the church carrying placards which read: “You are forever in our hearts: farewell to our true champion of humanity: Malcolm Fraser.” I honour Fraser, but not because he opened our borders to fleeing Read more
Pope Francis will meet with refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos on April 16 to show his support and solidarity for the migrants. Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press office, said the invitation for the pope to visit the island came from Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, and Greek president Read more
Pope Francis condemned the “rejection” of migrants during his traditional Easter message in the Vatican. “All too often, these brothers and sisters of ours meet along the way with death or, in any event, rejection by those who could offer them welcome and assistance,” said the pontiff on Easter Sunday. Pope Francis urge people to Read more
Standing on Mexican soil, less than a football field’s distance from the U.S., Pope Francis boldly spoke out on behalf of thousands of desperate migrants trekking long dangerous distances hoping to obtain asylum in the U.S. On the last stop of his recent pastoral visit to Mexico, in Ciudad Juarez – the border city across Read more
Pope Francis on Sunday called on European countries to share equally the burden of helping refugees who have been displaced by war and other “inhumane” situations. The pontiff said a “unanimous response” from European countries is needed to “share the burden fairly.” “The plight of refugees fleeing wars and other inhuman situations has always been Read more
On Sundays Pastor Matawalu Waqanituinayau, known as Mata, runs services at the Assemblies of God church but when he’s not preaching he’s following his other passion – rugby. The Matamata pastor, who has been in New Zealand for 18 years, is also acting as a player agent, a position that has attracted controversy recently because Read more
The United Nations has released a 2015 update on the state of the world’s migration stock – those who have left the land of their birth to work and live overseas (usually as economic migrants, but also as refugees). The results have been reproduced in a number of interesting and colourful graphs and infographics (as Read more
‘I did not ever think I would reach here,” says 17-year-old Jamieson, staring down at his dusty blue Crocs, given to him when he disembarked from the rescue boat in Sicily, in August. “I look back and I could have died many times. But I try to stop thinking of it. It is too much Read more
A surge of migrant deaths in deadly voyages across the Mediterranean Sea has become a modern-day refugee crisis. But the Rev. Mussie Zerai, a 40-year-old Roman Catholic priest from tiny Eritrea, north of Ethiopia, has moved to help migrants trapped in the North African deserts and rickety wooden boats drifting across the sea. “It is Read more