The Church of England

Call for government action over refugee crisis

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OVERSEAS church leaders have called for government action in response to the wave of migrants flooding Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of economic migrants, political refugees and displaced persons from the civil wars from the Middle East and North Africa have attempted to enter Europe this year, prompting a humanitari­an emergency.

Sydney’s Archbishop Glenn Davies has urged his government to respond to the crisis. “Our TV screens have been awash with images of desperate people fleeing the war-torn areas of Syria and Iraq. While it has been pleasing to see the way in which Germany’s Chancellor has responded to this humanitari­an crisis with an open invitation to settle within her borders, not all countries have shown the same kind of generosity.

“However, the crisis is too great to be ignored - too great even for Europe to solve on its own.”

Dr Davies urged Australia to accept some of the refugees.

“I repeat my request to the Prime Minister that Australia should return to an increased refugee quota of 20,000 per annum and I ask that urgent considerat­ion be given to this, as well as other measures Australia could take to alleviate the suffering caused by the Syrian crisis.”

Anglican leaders in New Zealand have urged their government to accept refugees, while the Primate of the Church of Ireland, the Most Rev Richard Clarke, has called upon the Irish people to open their homes.

“One way forward in the humanitari­an sphere would be to look to the goodwill of local communitie­s to take in and embrace manageable numbers of refugee families in their towns and cities, as others have done.

“If people across this island, for example, could welcome refugee families into their communitie­s in this way this could make a real difference to those who have left their homeland far behind in such desperate circumstan­ces,” he said.

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