Thank you Pope Francis

In solidarity, we at the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum celebrate the life and grieve the death of Pope Francis. Andrew Hamilton SJ writes of the Pope: “He took ‘welcoming, discerning, and courageous’ to a new level, and embodied these words in striking actions. His first mission was to a remote island to grieve for refugees who had died at sea and to welcome the survivors. He called on priests and Church officials to smell like the sheep of their flock and to reach out to people on the edge of the Church and society.”

Pope Francis spoke often of the need to show compassion and dignity for people fleeing persecution, perhaps most succinctly for the 2017 World Day of Migrants and Refugees where he said: “Our shared response may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate.”

At the end of his life, he showed the same care for refugees when he wrote to the Bishops of the USA to express his concerns about the treatment of migrants and refugees by the new administration. His care and compassion for the rights and dignity of refugees has been a consistent priority over the last 12 years. We are grateful for his leadership.

Download this statement.