Welcome to the first all-electronic copy of ‘Vocation for Justice’. Thank you to all those who have journeyed with us from the printed edition, through the consultation process, to this edition. It has been a difficult process, and there are many people who are owed gratitude – thank you all! Welcome too to new readers. We hope that ‘Vocation for Justice’ will continue to encourage and inspire, inviting readers to put faith into action for justice, peace and ecology.
Two requests:
1) Please get in touch (education@columbans.co.uk) with feedback on format and content.
2) Making a success of the new format will depend on growing the list of readers. Please share the materials, encouraging people to sign up to receive the newsletter electronically via the Columban website.
Seeking sanctuary: Responding in faith, choosing welcome
This edition of ‘Vocation for Justice’ is focused on ‘seeking sanctuary’. The ‘hostile environment’ policies of successive governments towards refugees in Britain and other similar policies around the world stand in opposition to the call of faith. Catholic Social Teaching makes clear the call to ‘welcome the stranger’ – and this edition celebrates and emphasises this choice to welcome, listen to and respond in faith.
Three articles are edited versions of the winning entries from this year’s Columban Media Competition and these are accompanied by the three winning images. The words inside the artwork on the cover – from the third place image by J. from Loreto Grammar School, Altrincham – all mean refugee in different languages. Young people were invited to submit articles or images on the theme of “Becoming a refugee is never a choice, but how we respond is”, a quote from the United Nations Secretary General-Secretary, António Guterres.
The annual competition attracted a record 349 entries across Britain and Ireland, our highest ever number. Entries from 31 schools in England, Wales and Scotland were judged by media experts who praised the high quality of all the entries shortlisted. Every entry was positive about the Church’s stance of ‘welcoming the stranger’ despite recent threats and animosity against people seeking sanctuary. In Britain, a difficult decision was made to anonymise winners’ names amidst the tensions. It is a testament to the courage and commitment of the schools that they are willing to stand up and witness to living out Catholic Social Teaching.
Winners were then invited to join a day of celebration and learning at Fatima House in Birmingham. This was a joy, an antidote to hostile rhetoric, meeting students, parents and chaplains who are willing to stand in solidarity with refugees. On the day, Mauricio Silva, Columban Interreligious Dialogue Co-ordinator, and Lay Missionary Nathalie Marytsh, who coordinate the running of Fatima House, spoke to the group about the realities facing people seeking sanctuary and the upcoming 10-year anniversary of the project which provides safe accommodation to destitute female asylum seekers in the city. Columban Regional Director, Fr. John Boles, reflected on the commitment to accompany refugees and migrants and thanked the young people for their support of the competition, praising their talent and their compassion for those living on the margins.
The other articles in the edition bring further perspectives to the issues around seeking sanctuary. Columban Justice, Peace and Ecology team member Sr MaryAnne’s article ‘We say their name’ explores her attendance at the monthly ecumenical refugee vigil outside the Home Office: “It is very poignant to stand and pray for those in power and for those who suffer, at the foot of the imposing Home Office building”. ‘Letters from my life’ is made up of extracts from letters written by participants from the group ‘Stories of Hope and Home’. It brings us the voices of people with lived experience of the hostile environment. Columban Missionary Fr. Alvaro Martinez’s article ‘I Am Just Another Migrant’ is rooted in his experiences of migration, including his current ministry at the Mexico-US border.
Finally, continuing the ‘Vocation for Justice’ practice of inviting action, the ‘Resources and Action Ideas’ page includes upcoming conferences, the campaign to ‘Lift the ban’ on asylum seekers working, weeks of action for Laudato Si’ and refugees, and information about the Columban Faith in Action Volunteer Programme – please share!