On the occasion of the 107th World Immigration and Refugee Day, the bishops of the Philippines urged the faithful not to hold prejudice and discrimination against immigrants and refugees, but to maintain an inclusive attitude.
(Vatican News Network)On the occasion of the “World Immigration and Refugee Day” held on September 26, the Committee of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines called for “not to hold prejudice and discrimination against immigrants and refugees, but to adopt an inclusive attitude.” The theme of this year’s 107th “Immigration and Refugee Day” is “Towards a broader’we'”. Mons. Narciso V. Abellana, the chairman of the Bishop’s Pastoral Committee for Immigration and Migrants, and Bishop of Lamblon, wrote in a circular: “The life of immigrants is not easy, and the life of refugees is even more important. Difficult. There is also prejudice and discrimination among Christians who claim to belong to the Catholic Church, the universal church.”
The bishop lamented that people with different “color, race, beliefs, orientations and hobbies” were “questioned”, they were “difficult to integrate into the group” and were not easy to be accepted. Therefore, he advised the faithful to maintain a tolerant attitude, “not only in the use of language, but also in our interpersonal relations”, because “as Pope Francis said, we are all brothers.”
In addition, Bishop Abelana also emphasized that the theme of this year’s Immigration and Refugee Day is to “encourage us to overthrow the wall between us and them”, and that “when we are afraid of differences”, this theme can help us understand “differences.” It can make us rich, and it can even be welcomed.”
It’s worth mentioning that the Catholic Church of the Philippines also celebrated the 35th “National Immigration Sunday” on September 26. On this occasion, a poster was issued with the smiling face of Christ painted on it. The feature of this black-and-white poster made with pencil is that one side of the face is composed of many other faces, and these faces are selected from the most vulnerable people in society. In fact, in addition to immigrants and refugees, there are also portraits that symbolize prisoners, patients, and victims of violence. The Philippine Church explained, “We desperately need to build a culture of hospitality and respect for differences, and we need to build bridges between us so that the inclusive gospel can be realized here and now, so that no one can be excluded or be Leave behind”.
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