Global religious leaders urge end to “broken state of European migration” – 22 September 2020

A dozen global and regional religious organizations released an advocacy statement on the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe that defines their calling as Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and urges the creation of a world in which “we become human together.”

The recent events in Moria camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece highlight longstanding shortcomings of EU migration and asylum policy, inconsistent with the EU’s own core values and with fundamental ethical or faith principles. Churches and international church-based organizations reaffirm their commitment to a compassionate response to people on the move. We call for adequate support both for people on the move and for their host communities. We appeal for an EU Pact on asylum and migration that respects relevant commitments under international law, the Global Compacts on Refugees and for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and the EU’s core values of respect for human dignity and rights and of effective solidarity among EU members.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NRSV)

Read the full statement here