Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki The president of Poland’s Catholic bishops’ conference called for humanitarian aid for migrants seeking to enter the country from neighbouring Belarus.
Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki made the appeal on October 4 amid tensions between Poland and Belarus over an inordinate rise in migrants seeking to cross the border.
Influenced by the recently celebrated 107th World Day of Migrants and Refugees event on September 26, the archbishop used the philosophy of the event to help illuminate the current crisis at the Polish border. “In view of the events on the Polish border in past weeks, the recently celebrated 107th World Day of Migrants and Refugees gives me an opportune occasion to recall once again the Christians’ responsibility for strangers and to seek solutions that serve the common good”, he said.
“As Christians, we must be convinced that the right and duty to defend the state borders can be reconciled with bringing help to people who find themselves in dramatic situations of ‘no return’ as hostages to the geopolitical games of certain politicians.”
Speaking on the Church in Poland’s position on the issue of the Polish border crisis, Archbishop Gadecki affirmed that the Church “declares its readiness to join in the search for the best solutions, which … within the framework of the legal order …. will serve the common good widely understood”.