Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News Australia

Dominican priest condemns separation of Tamil family after husband’s deportation

byMark Bowling
26 July 2018 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA
Fr Pancras Jordan

Justice: Fr Pan Jordan, who works closely with Brisbane’s Tamil community, has added his voice to calls for fair process for asylum seekers and their families.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Fr Pancras Jordan
Justice: Fr Pan Jordan, who works closely with Brisbane’s Tamil community, has added his voice to calls for fair process for asylum seekers and their families. Photo: Mark Bowling.

A BRISBANE Dominican priest has added his voice to calls for fair process for asylum seekers and their families, after a Tamil man was deported from Australia and then arrested in Sri Lanka.

“This is calculated cruelty. It contravenes the basic right of the family,” Fr Pan Jordan, who works closely with Brisbane’s Tamil community, said.

On July 13, the Department of Home Affairs issued asylum seeker Thileepan Gnaneswaran with a removal notice.

Three days later he was forced to leave behind his wife, Kathika, and their 11-month-old daughter and was deported.

Mr Gnaneswaran, 30, was arrested and interrogated when he landed in Colombo, before being released from police custody.

His case has received international attention, with the United Nations condemning Australia’s deportation policy.

“It is not a way to treat people – separating children from their family. It is contrary to our Catholic values,” Fr Jordan said.

“Our Catholic teaching is very clear that families should be united, not separated. A child has to grow in the presence of father and mother.

“In this case, this 30-year-old man has no way of being reunited with his wife and child. It is absolutely cruel policy.”

Fr Pancras Jordan
Frustrated: Dominican Father Pancras Jordan.

Fr Jordan works closely with Tamil refugees in Brisbane and is frustrated that 91 per cent of Sri Lankans, especially Tamils, fail their fast track assessment for a temporary protection or Safe Haven Enterprise visa.

Related Stories

Brisbane adoration community sees surge in adorers, more needed

Brisbane gets small morning reprieve to inspect damages after 72 hours hard rain

Twice as nice – three sets of twins at Good Samaritan College

He said country information assessing whether Sri Lanka was safe for asylum seekers to return to their country was produced by the Australian Foreign Affairs Department.

“That information is produced in such a way to say that Sri Lanka is safe to go back,” he said.

“They are not going to take into account information from Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch or what we produce and give directly hearing through the Church and religious there.”

Mr Gnaneswaran and his wife arrived in Australia separately and were married in 2016 in a religious ceremony.

Ms Gnaneswaran said she and her daughter were granted a temporary protection visa, but her husband wasn’t.

“My daughter needs her father for her future … (she) is missing her father,” Ms Gnaneswaran told SBS Tamil.

“She is searching for him everywhere. I just can’t endure this pain.”

The Tamil Refugee Council claims Mr Gnaneswaran was tortured by Sri Lankan security officers prior to his arrival in Australia because his family had strong connections to rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The Department of Home Affairs said the case had “been comprehensively assessed by the Department, the former Refugee Review Tribunal, the Federal Circuit Court, the Full Federal Court and the High Court”.

“Foreign nationals who do not hold a valid visa and who have exhausted all outstanding avenues to remain in Australia are expected to depart voluntarily to their country of citizenship,” a spokesperson said.

“Those unwilling to depart voluntarily will be subject to detention and removal from Australia.”

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Brisbane obstetrician and gynaecologist to lobby state politicians about dangers of decriminalising abortion in Queensland

Next Post

Domus Dei Duo bringing Bach sacred music to the Church

Mark Bowling

Mark is the joint winner of the Australian Variety Club 2000 Heart Award for his radio news reporting in East Timor, and has also won a Walkley award, Australia’s most-respected journalism award. Mark is the author of ‘Running Amok’ that chronicles his time as a foreign correspondent juggling news deadlines and the demands of being a husband and father. Mark is married with four children.

Related Posts

A Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament
QLD

Brisbane adoration community sees surge in adorers, more needed

31 March 2022
Deluge: Flood waters at The Wheel of Brisbane at Southbank Parklands. Photos: Robert Falzon / Facebook
QLD

Brisbane gets small morning reprieve to inspect damages after 72 hours hard rain

28 February 2022
Twice as nice – three sets of twins at Good Samaritan College
News

Twice as nice – three sets of twins at Good Samaritan College

9 February 2022
Next Post
Rachael Shipard and Eleanor Adeney

Domus Dei Duo bringing Bach sacred music to the Church

Webb family

Sister to 11 Nancy Webb is becoming a religious sister for life

Young pilot Liam Morey

Sky's the limit for pilot Liam Morey as he takes on record-breaking trip

Popular News

  • Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

    Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition
QLD

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

by Staff writers
20 May 2022
0

SURVIVING a stroke has transformed Lewis Hoffman and the lives of those he selflessly helps as a...

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022
Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022
Holiness is possible and the Church provides tools to attain it, cardinal says

Holiness is possible and the Church provides tools to attain it, cardinal says

18 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping