Faith Leaders' Refugee Statement

Wednesday September 9

Scotland’s faith leaders have jointly committed to practical action and called for a long-term response to the refugee crisis.

Representatives of the Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic Church and the Muslim and Jewish communities met last week and are in ongoing discussions on the situation.

The statement reads:

As refugees continue to arrive across Europe, we have consistently been inspired by the hospitality and friendship that is being extended in many places. Many of us know that our families too were once strangers in this country that we now proudly call home, and we call on government, local councils, charities, and members of our communities to show genuine leadership at this time of crisis.

Each of our faiths urges us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and, as we continue to encourage political action, we are also clear about the need for practical down to earth responses. We are encouraging people to donate to support those having to live in the refugee camps, and are committed to working with members of the Refugee Taskforce to find ways to support the families whom we hope and pray will shortly be arriving. Many of our communities have already begun to collect donations and are committed to offering hospitality. We are also looking at ways in which some of our buildings can be used. We believe that it is vital that we do more than simply provide houses - we must help to make homes.

We recognise that we need a long-term response and we are committed to this work together for years to come.

It is signed by the Rt Rev Dr Angus Morrison, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; the Most Rev Philip Tartaglia, Archbishop of Glasgow; Dr Javed Gill, Convener of the Muslim Council of Scotland; and Ephraim Borowski, Director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities.

Comments

There are currently no comments on this post

Add a reply

All fields are required. Email address will not be published.