“I wish each and every one of you a peaceful and happy Christmas and a new year of hope and possibility,” says President Michael D. Higgins.
The terms ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum seeker’ should only arouse heartfelt concern in the Christian heart, says Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.
Advance planning by the State, including full and transparent consultation with local people, should go some way to allay fears and misunderstandings, says Archbishop Michael Neary.
The Jesuit Refugee Service has called for the restoration of search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean following drowning of 150 people in a shipwreck on Thursday.
“The well-being of local communities and of refugees alike requires that the provision of facilities for those who have lost everything must be carefully planned.”
Parishioners have invoked a medieval law that prevents civil authorities entering a building where a religious service is ongoing.
“The lessons we have learned in the European Union during the 2015 migration crisis should serve to remind us of the need to address migration in a cooperative and comprehensive manner. ”
"We want to make migrants’ voices heard. We want everyone with a migration experience to share it – from migrants themselves, to people who live in communities where migrants leave from, pass through or arrive and settle."
Last year was the deadliest year on record for human rights defenders across the world: 207 activists were killed for attempting to protect their communities, their land and the environment
"This latest move is further evidence of the disregard the US administration has for the lives of vulnerable people." – Éamonn Meehan
"A Middle East without Christians would not be the Middle East."
Because there is no legal definition of hate crime in Irish law, such crimes aren’t systematically recorded. The immediate consequence is that victims are left exposed to continued attack.
As the numbers seeking refuge increase, so must our aid efforts – Trócaire.
“We're calling on the Government to step up their efforts and give a timeline for when they will offer a home and safety to the remainder of the 4,000 people they have committed to taking in to Ireland.”
Play documents journey of a man who fled persecution for his faith, and the journey of the British girl who interviewed him.
"There is a risk of genocide in South Sudan. Write it in large letters, so that someone from the international community intervenes before it is too late," is appeal from local Church.
Mangar Makur Chuot will be a member of South Sudan's first-ever Olympic team in Rio.
"Remember you too were treated harshly abroad, building London’s underground, the mines of Yorkshire, in the docks of Boston or in the new cities of Sydney and Perth."
The Christmas story gives us guidance on how to shape “our own shared humanity” looking to the future.
22 NGOs call on the Government to honour its promise to fundamentally reform the Irish asylum system in line with recommendations in the McMahon Report.
Jesuit Refugee Service calls on the Government to provide funding and support to help them transition to life outside Direct Provision.
Refugee crisis similar in scale to Rwandan crisis of 1994.
Call for urgent reform of current asylum system in Ireland
