Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has condemned the British government for deciding to scale down its child refugee scheme. He said the decision was both “regrettable” and “worrying”. It had been planned that under the scheme 3,000 child refugees would be brought into the country. But now only 350 children would be admitted.
“Our country has a great history of welcoming those in need, particularly the most vulnerable, such as unaccompanied children,” said Welby in a statement released by Lambeth Palace.
“Refugees, like all people, are treasured human beings made in the image of God who deserve safety, freedom and the opportunity to flourish,” he added. The Archbishop also said he hoped the government would reconsider its decision.
Nigerian bishop denounces corruption and violence
Archbishop Augustine Akubeze of Benin City, Nigeria, has denounced the widespread corruption and violence in his country. He asked Catholics to pray to the Blessed Virgin “to help us bring an end to armed robbery, kidnapping and corruption.”
Forty per cent of Nigerians are Christians.
‘Trojan horse of the Vatican’
Turkish media reported that the government is investigating alleged contacts between the Vatican and Fethullah Gulen, whom the government blames for last July’s coup attempt. This is part of a campaign of repeatedly accusing the Vatican of being involved in attempts to undermine President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Their ‘proof’ is a brief February 1998 meeting Gulen had with Pope John Paul II.
Several newspapers are, in fact, describing Gulen as a “Trojan horse of the Vatican”.
There are seven Catholic dioceses and apostolic vicariates in Turkey.
‘Light and shadows’ in healthcare industry
Addressing the Italian bishops’ healthcare commission, Pope Francis said the healthcare industry presents “a situation with lights and shadows”. The shadows he mentioned included the use of “a business approach to the healthcare sector.” If financial concerns are the sole guide, he said, the result “may risk discarding human beings” True optimisation of resources, he said, means using resources ethically, “not penalising the most fragile”.
According to the Pope, “if there is a sector in which the throwaway culture makes most visible its painful consequences, it is exactly that of healthcare. When a sick person is not placed at the centre and considered in their dignity, attitudes arise which can even lead to profiteering on other people’s misfortunes”.
Trump’s defeat welcomed
Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Migration, has welcomed the decision of a federal appeals court that upheld a temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump’s travel ban on refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
Trump’s ban was strongly condemned by several US bishops also because it temporarily suspended the country’s refugee resettlement programme.
He said the Church in the US remains steadfast in its commitment to resettling refugees and all those fleeing persecution.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)