Bishop John McAreavey If you can help young migrants, you should do so immediately, Dromore’s Bishop John McAreavey has urged communities.
Welcoming the Pope’s message for 2017’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Dr McAreavey, who chairs the Council for Justice and Peace of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, praised the Pontiff’s focused on the theme of ‘Child Migrants, the vulnerable and the voiceless’, and commended Vatican efforts to focus awareness on the challenges facing young refugees and migrants.
“Unlike any time in our history, our collective duty of care towards migrants and refugees includes Irish society in a very significant way,” he said, admitting that while this development can seem “overwhelming and disorienting”, Catholics have a responsibility to show solidarity with “our new neighbours”.
“There have been many changes in Irish society but the duty to love our neighbour no matter where he or she is from is unchanged and, thankfully, unchangeable,” he said.