THE Catholic Church in Australia has welcomed the Federal Government’s recent decision to process the claims of asylum seekers onshore.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, on October 13, decided to delay the proposed Migration Bill, as she accepted that onshore processing had to be adopted.
This followed a High Court decision that the Government did not have the power to swap asylum seekers with Malaysia due to inadequate protection safeguards.
“The Government knows all too well the views of the Catholic Church on this matter,” Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office director Scalabrinian Father Maurizio Pettena said.
“Global contemporary migration which reveals the plight of asylum seekers is marked by injustices, abuses, exploitation, human trafficking and all sort of persecutions.
“This poses a very serious and urgent call to action on the part of the human community and more so on the part of those who have been elected to public offices to serve for the good of all.”
Fr Pettena said the Church offered pastoral care to asylum seekers both during the time their visas were being processed and after, and had always offered to work with the Government in the pursuit of more humane ways to respond to the cry of asylum seekers.
“More boats will likely come as this unfortunately is the reality of the world we live in – there is still much suffering in the world,” he said. “However, this is not a call for alarm or community anxiety.
“On the contrary, Australia boasts over 200 charities ready to support asylum seekers in the community.
“Helping others never leads to social unrest; rather, it builds goodwill, peace and international respect.”
Fr Pettena said the Church called on all political parties to work towards implementing a fast and effective system of onshore processing which would give back to asylum seekers the human dignity they longed for and would enable them to fully contribute to Australian society.
“The Government has been visionary in hosting asylum seekers in the community, having recently moved a great number of children out of detention,” he said. “The Catholic Church strongly encourages the Government to continue in this endeavour.”
