Refugees
Welcoming the Stranger: Our Christian Call to Refugee Solidarity
In a world fractured by conflict, persecution, and displacement, our Catholic faith compels us to look beyond borders and open our hearts. As a Diocesan community, we are called by the Gospel to encounter, protect, and integrate our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters. Responding to this call is not merely a social obligation; it is a profound expression of our love for Jesus Christ, who reminds us, “I was a stranger, and you made me welcome.”
World Day of Migrants and Refugees
Every September, the global Church marks the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. This annual observance provides our parishes with a sacred opportunity to pray for displaced persons, reflect on the systemic root causes of migration, and commit to local actions that reflect the radical hospitality of the Kingdom of God.
Holy Wisdom on our Common Humanity
Our Holy Fathers have consistently reminded us that our treatment of vulnerable newcomers is a test of our Christian conscience:
“We are called upon to journey together towards an ever wider ‘we’… for the sake of renewing the human family, building together a future of justice and peace, and ensuring that no one is left behind.”
— Pope Francis
Building upon this urgent moral vision, Pope Leo XIV underscores that the inherent value of a person transcends legal status or lines on a map:
“Human dignity demands legal and safe pathways, rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection for victims, serious processes of reception and integration… Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border.”
— Pope Leo XIV
From Canada to Our Parishes: A Unified Call to Action
The call to welcome refugees must move from global encyclicals into the concrete reality of our Canadian society, our local communities, and our individual parishes. Canada has a rich tradition of refugee sponsorship, but the legal framework is only the foundation. True settlement requires the warmth of a community.
- In Canada: We advocate for just immigration policies, fair humanitarian pathways, and robust settlement structures that uphold the right of all people to live in safety and peace.
- In Our Communities: We turn a “culture of indifference” into a culture of encounter. We collaborate with local service agencies to provide housing, language support, and employment opportunities for newly arrived families.
- In Our Parishes: We invite and welcome. Our parishes can directly sponsor a refugee family, walking with them as mentors, neighbors, and spiritual family.
How You and Your Parish Can Get Involved
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Peterborough is the only Sponsorship Agreement Holder in Peterborough. There are 120 SAHs across Canada; an SAH is an organization approved by Ottawa as a trusted partner in refugee resettlement.
In 2015 to 2016, during the Syrian Refugee Crisis, 18 of our Parishes sponsored 83 refugees to come to Canada.
Other groups in the Peterborough area accessed our “SAH” to bring 152 more to safety.
Many of these sponsors have returned to sponsor again. And many of the families they settled have also come to us, ready and able now to sponsor their loved ones who were left behind.
Since 2019, we have welcomed 92 new arrivals from countries like Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. We are still awaiting 65 people whose applications are in process. We have had many requests for the year 2023, as the refugee crisis abroad continues to grow.
Transform faith into action. Consider how you or your ministry group can make an impact today:
- Sponsor a Family: Connect with the Diocesan Refugee Program to learn how your parish can form a committee to financially and socially sponsor a refugee family.
- Donate Material Goods: Support our local integration drives by donating household items, gift cards, and winter clothing for newly arrived families.
- Volunteer as a Mentor: Offer your time to help newcomers practice English, navigate public transit, or settle into their new neighborhoods.
- Pray Unceasingly: Include intentions for displaced families, especially vulnerable children, during the Prayers of the Faithful at Sunday Mass.
A Prayer for the Journey
God, Father Almighty, grant us the grace to reflect your tender love to every migrant whom you place in our path. Sustain us by the power of your Spirit, so that we can spread in hearts and in every situation the culture of encounter and of care. Bless each act of welcome and outreach that draws those in exile into the “we” of community and of the Church, so that our earth may truly become the common home of all our brothers and sisters. Amen.
Contact REFUGEE PROGRAM, COORDINATOR.