This update was provided by John McLaughlin, a member of the St.Monica’s Housing Management Committee and a member of the J&P Commission
St. Monica’s Housing was founded in 2010 by a member of the Justice and Peace Commission and a member of the SVP. Since then many women who are made deliberately destitute when their first asylum claim is refused have been helped while they gather evidence for an appeal. Getting evidence, and a solicitor, can be a lengthy process and during this time they are not allowed to work, are not housed and have no source of income. St. Monica’s provides good quality temporary accommodation and provides each woman £25 a week to help with living costs. The women usually stay with us for six months giving them a period of stability, a postal address and time to progress their asylum claim free from housing worries. This year we opened a second house in Harehills, Leeds, which together with our existing house in Beeston, Leeds, gives a total of ten places. Our houses are provided by the Diocese and by Catholic Care with running costs met by various funders including The Grail Society, Cross and Passion Sisters and the Mary Strand Trust Fund. Women are recommended to us from Pafras (Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).During the year April 2018 to March 2019 we provided approximately 2000 days (and nights!) of accommodation.The women come from many different countries. Some of the more recent ones are: Eritrea, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Mali. Recently, St.Monica’s has been contacted for advice by two groups both intending to use the ‘St.Monica Model’ to run projects for men in Leeds and Wakefield. In spite of our efforts there are many destitute men and women seeking asylum in our Diocese and as Pope Francis has reminded us we must practise charity for those who have been thrown away and restore their humanity and ours.
If you would like help and advice on setting up a similar project or wish to help with our running costs please contact us on Email: jmclj2@hotmail.com Mobile 07954105391.
Paul Kelly, parishioner at Ss Mary & Michael, Settle, and project lead for the Refugee ReSETTLEment Community sponsorship Group, sends this update.
Twenty months since a parish meeting agreed to start the community-wide project to welcome and provide for a family displaced by the Syrian conflict, 5 months since the Home Office approved our intensive preparations, application and accommodation, and now over three months since our journey to the airport that marked the real beginning. Looking back, I don’t know who was more nervous by the time the plane touched down one Tuesday afternoon in late August. Then we see each other for the first time with big kisses between the women and more formal handshakes between the men, all accompanied by beaming smiles. After a slow journey through rush hour traffic we finally arrived at their new home, a big change from their recent past. Two of the volunteers had prepared a Syrian meal and Grandma in the family invites all the volunteers to stay and share their meal.At the end of the day everyone is exhausted but relieved and throughout it all the family toddler is running around playing ball as if she has lived in Settle all her life! Since then the many volunteers, with the assistance of some enthusiastic interpreters have been helping the family with paperwork, appointments, applications for bank accounts and benefits and getting to know their new environment. And of course the all-important English classes. It is appropriate only to share general information but I am delighted to say that more and more the family are meeting with people in the community of Settle and district and are already taking part in activities outside the core volunteer and English teaching group. They are experiencing many friendly greetings out and about. And the house is proving great too thanks to all involved in its preparation. Once they arrived we had no immediate plans to do extra fundraising but two recent events were wonderfully arranged entirely independently of the group: a concert in St Alkelda’s, Giggleswick, the musicians offering their skills for free, and a week later the annual Quiz Night hosted by the staff of HSBC Bank. It was great fun, the rugby club was packed out, and it topped £1000 on the night, which the bank will match £ for £. An amazing effort that helps ensure we can continue high quality support for Settle’s new family. In another surprise this autumn we made the nominations for New Community Sponsorship Group of the year at an award ceremony in Canada House. We didn’t win but Cath Mackenzie (ESOL lead on far right) and I (third from left) had a great chance to network with other groups, and get a photo with one of the presenters – spot Dr Who (Peter Capaldi) at the back of the picture! It is strongly reassuring to know we have such support, and any dissent in the town community has been pleasingly little. Welcoming the family just wouldn’t be possible without the backing of many people in and around Settle. The ReSETTLEment team continue to be supported by Catholic Care who act as the lead sponsor and are responsible for the sponsorship arrangements with the Home Office.
The Commission has shown films about Palestine in the past but in a new venture we recently joined forces with the Leeds Pax Christi Group to show a film as part of the Fifth Leeds Palestinian Film Festival.The film was called ‘Voices Across the Divide’ and we showed it at Wheeler Hall at the back of St Anne’s Cathedral. Despite a little confusion about the starting time (which was advertised a bit differently in different places!) we ended up with about 60 people staying to watch the film. Fortunately, there were some interesting stalls with Fairly traded goods from Palestine and refreshments were also available for those who came a little early for the film itself. The film only lasted about an hour. It had been made by an an American Jewish filmmaker called Alice Rothschild. She wove together interviews with Palestinians in the USA and Canada with historical photos and footage to help create an intimate portrait of what is undoubtedly one of the most complex conflicts of recent times. However, hearing the stories of individuals and their families is a way of making the conflict and its impacts much more real. People were clearly moved by what they saw and heard and there was a good discussion afterwards with comments and questions from the floor. Several people there had been to Palestine Israel within the last 5 years and were able to talk from their own experience as well – which also enhanced the experience.
Tricia Griffin, a member of the Film Festival Organising Committee commented: We show films that are not readily available to general audiences in and around Leeds; films that shine a light on Palestine – it’s people, history, culture and society, that are thought provoking and challenge the sterotypes that are prevalent about the West Bank and Gaza. Where possible we arrange discussions and Q+As after the film and from time to time we organise a film and food event to provide opportunity for people to meet and talk in more depth. The films that I think are the most powerful and the most enjoyable are:
Wajib (2018) – Comedy/drama set in Nazareth, focused on the relationship of a father and son. Wonderful sense of place and character.
Gaza (2019) – Beautifully shot new film that captures how ordinary people find meaning behind the conflict.
Occupation of the American Mind (2017) – the film explores how the Israeli government, the U.S. government, and the pro-Israel lobby have joined forces, to shape American media coverage of the conflict in Israel’s favour. “One of the most compelling and important documentaries in recent years” John Pilger
The Wanted 18 (2014) – Excellent animated documentary about the efforts of Palestinians in Beit Sahour to start a small local dairy industry during the First Intifada. Very interesting for its historical perspective on non-violent protest.
By Lucy Irven, Facilitator for the Diocesan Refugee Support Group
Once more the Diocesan Refugee Support group invited parishioners and organisations to share news and ideas of our support for Refugees and Asylum Seekers. This time we were warmly welcomed by Fr Simon Bradbury and Parishioners of Ss Peter and Paul Parish in Wakefield to their very smart Parish facilities. About 50 people gathered for a series of presentations, guided skillfully by John Battle, Chairman of the Leeds Justice and Peace Commission and member of the Refugee Support Group. Carol Hill, Director of Catholic Care, gave a brief introduction to the Government’s Community Refugee Sponsorship scheme and then showed us a very moving presentation of images and music. The shocking images of war torn life in Syria and the treacherous journeys made across Europe were in stark contrast to those of the welcome and comfort experienced by the families that have been welcomed by Community Sponsorship scheme. Brian Hamill gave us an introduction to Wakefield District City of Sanctuary (WDCS) of which he was a founding member some years ago. A particular concern of WDCS is those who are accommodated at Urban House, one of the five Government Initial Accommodation Centres in the UK, where asylum seekers will stay for about 3 weeks before being placed in more permanent accommodation while their claim is being considered. About 100 of those Asylum Seekers will then be dispersed to the Wakefield area in a year whilst others go to Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale or Huddersfield. WCDS offers a range of drop-ins and other support services in venues around the town for which they are always looking for volunteers. Linda Fielding, also a founder member of WDCS, then told us about the work of the Asylum Seeker Support Fund (ASSF) and Clothing Store, both based in Wakefield. Many of the Asylum Seekers who arrive at Urban House have only the clothes they were wearing on arrival and so the Clothing store offers emergency packs for recent arrivals. They can then provide more substantial packages of support clothing as well as additional household or large items such as a pushchair or winter coat. The ASSF gives them £10 to £20 a week along with food parcels of both fresh and non-perishable foods. Linda said they are always looking for volunteers to help with the Clothing store and Food bank as well as regular funding to maintain their support funds. The Parish SVP groups in Wakefield are very generous with their support of Wakefield District of Sanctuary. Mike Woulfe of St Peter and St Paul explained how they help with transport to Leeds for meetings or to access the Night shelter. Whilst the SVP works to provide food, clothing and household goods as needed across the city, Mike pointed out that they believe their support is also needed for the emotional and social aspects of life. The personal encounter is a very important aspect of making a difference for refugees and asylum seekers. He said a lot is being done but that there is always more to do and whilst working hard it is always important to remember that we must walk humbly in everything we do. John Battle closed the presentations saying how important it is to have hope. He quoted the words of Pope Francis, from the back of the Poems of Hope booklet, ‘A hope that is expressed in expectations for the future, in the desire for friendship, in the wish to participate in the host society also through learning the language, access to employment and the education of children…We can and must all nourish this hope!!’ After the formal presentations, refreshments were available and people could chat informally with the many groups present about the volunteering opportunities available.
Our latest day of reflection, held on 19th October at the Good Shepherd parish centre in Mytholmroyd, was an extended celebration of the mass exploring the connections between the mass and care of God’s creation. The day was structured around the different parts of the mass. After some initial refreshments, we started our day with an extended penitential rite exploring and reflecting on the ways in which all of us, both individually and at a community level, have failed to adequately care for God’s creation. The usual Liturgy of the Word followed with insightful reflections provided by Mgr Donal Lucey who accompanied us on this day. All were invited to go and take some time for private reflection after this. When we got back together as a group it was to sit at a long table that had been set out in a style reminiscent of depictions of the Last Supper. However, before sitting at it, everyone helped to put everything on the table that we needed as a community to celebrate our Eucharistic meal. When Communion was completed, we took our lunch break – making very apparent the link between the meal element of the Eucharist and physical nourishment through sharing a meal communally. After lunch there was a further period of private reflection as part of our Communion Thanksgiving – with the opportunity to take a walk in the green areas and corridors immediately accessible from the parish centre. When we re-gathered we took part in a further reflection exercise prior to a final blessing and hymn. This involved everyone being given a piece of clay and being asked to make a tealight holder from it. Clay is a motif used in the Gospels and we reflected on this as we each made our tealight holder. Everyone was then invited to light a tealight, put it in their holder and to place this on a map of the world in places where we know that environmental degradation is worst – to represent our commitment to go away from this celebration renewed in our motivation to do more about caring for God’s creation and to recognise that it is the world’s poorest communities that are being most badly affected by our lack of care.
Everyone was very appreciative of being able to join in this celebration. One attendee from Huddersfield commented: “It was good to make the Mass last all day: time to slow down and let each part of the liturgy speak to me. This was a good context for thinking about the climate emergency, and the guidance of Laudato Si, especially with the focus given by the special Eucharistic Prayer that was used. This reinforced the message that this is our generation’s responsibility, and that fine words and sentiments are no use if they do not lead us (and especially me) into making and spreading change in our comforts and habits of consumption.”
In July 2019, a group met at St. Walburga’s Parish Hall in Shipley. They had decided to take part in a 5-week workshop programme on the causes and possible solutions to poverty in our respective parish communities and beyond. There were 16 participants and three more who could only attend one session. The workshops had been advertised in the Heaton and Bingley / Cottingley Churches and being able to learn about our different experiences, to share them and to grow as a group / community action group was stimulating and encouraging. In all such workshop sessions there are three significant phases which we need to address as a matter of urgency and these are; 1. Thinking about the problem of family poverty, 2. Deciding what we can do about it and 3. Acting or doing something about it. Therefore, we must think, decide, act/do. All three phases are inextricably linked together. Without any agreed actions, the workshop series become just a well-meaning talking shop and that simply won’t do. Actions always speak louder than words. At the moment we are still at the thinking stage but for this series of workshops to lead to a successful conclusion, we need to move to the deciding and doing stages from Autumn 2019 onwards. To do this we need to build a broad base of faith and non-faith-based support. A challenging task! The challenge of addressing poverty is a huge one. Pope Francis has written and acted upon many encyclicals on the subject and the Bible provides us with many examples of how poverty can be alleviated and tackled. As Christians we have a duty to do this in our lives and we have a mission to counter this. We cannot stand by in silence without acting and must be prepared to get our hands dirty to try and cope with the challenge.
Workshop activity
The 17 tenets of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) have a huge role to play here. It is disappointing that CST is not emphasised as strongly in Catholic Education as it should be and that people are not as inspired to do good works as much as they ought to. This needs to change both in catholic education and in life in general. Catholic social teaching could be directly linked to the features of a good sustainable area and this could provide a way forward.
We do a lot now in our parish and it is not always well publicised either locally or regionally. These activities include: • Supporting the Bradford North Food Bank-with donations and collections • Support the Pio Friars with donations • Bingley Methodist Church provides lunches for poor people • Saint Vincent De Paul Society – SVP – Providing practical support and visiting people in need • INN Church initiative for homeless people – providing certain homeless guests with assistance and sustenance for a defined period of time • Union of Catholic Mothers – Providing help especially for young children and Babies • Mini- Vinnies- Groups of catholic Primary school children who help older and poor people in their communities by doing school events like lunches for them. • TWIG (An NHS involvement group) But where do we go from here? We are in the process of setting up a follow-up workshop to help us decide. During the course of the workshops we came up with all sorts of suggestions. These included: Reaching out to other faith groups, asking them for help, advice and assistance in our anti-poverty strategy. The challenge is too big for us to tackle on our own. We also thought about reaching out to political, civil and business groupings in the same way. We also thought of developing opportunities for people to do voluntary work on the poverty agenda to improve their work chances and/or embellish their UCAS forms for university; perhaps offer opportunities for young people to develop counselling, mental health, advocacy and debt management skills. There was no shortage of ideas – the challenge is to settle on something and then to get on with it.
This is a precis of the talk given by Chris Cole (Director of Drone Wars UK and Vice Chair of Pax Christi UK) when he spoke at the Yorkshire Sabeel meeting in September.
Although this talk focussed on the use of drones, Chris stressed the importance of looking at alternative thinking; to challenge the idea that ‘military security’ is our salvation. It is taken as a given – an article of faith – that our security can only be achieved through the strength of armed forces, to impose death and destruction on others. This needs to be challenged. Just over two decades ago drones were primarily used for target practice by the Air Force and Navy. Now they have become central to the way we wage war.
Chris explained that, in essence, drones are aircraft that are remotely-controlled by a crew of three on the ground – the pilot, the sensor operator and the mission intelligence controller. Secrecy is an issue: we are not officially allowed to know where the UK fleet of Reaper armed drones are. Drone Wars UK has taken the MOD to a Freedom of Information tribunal over this and, while they will happil give details of the siting of manned military aircraft, UK drone locations are secret. Unofficially it is known that they are based at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. The US has for some time maintained hundreds of armed drones in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan. Recently, the US has started to base drones in Europe, initially in Poland. Until recently he had believed that only three countries – the US, UK and Israel – had armed military drones, but now other countries, notably the UAE, Turkey, China and Iran had this capability. He estimated that 20 to 30 countries would regularly be operating armed drones in the next three to five years.
Chris said however, that modern drone warfare was conceived out of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Remote operation, targeted killings, constant surveillance of the population, date from the late 1990’s operation in the occupied territories. The term ‘targeted killing’ was invented by the Israeli military, being preferred to ‘assassination’. It was initially condemned (but later adopted) by the US. Chris then went on to describe the impact of the development of drones on modern warfare. 1. Making it easier for politicians to opt for war The public don’t like to see their young men and women sent to fight in distant conflicts with unclear aims, and particularly seeing them getting killed. Drones, by taking away that political cost, make it easier for politicians to opt for use of military force, particularly when the populist press is baying for blood. 2. Drones: Video game warfare The idea that the operation of armed drones could lead to a ‘PlayStation mentality’ in their operation was first suggested by Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Killing. Chris said that, while ‘the jury is out’ on PlayStation mentality, at the very least there needs to be much greater transparency in the day-to-day use of armed drones. 3. Enabling the expansion of targeted killing The most controversial use of armed drones is in ‘targeted killing’, by the US, UK and particularly, Israel. The ‘technology enables the policy’, referring to David Cameron’s authorisation of the killing of two British members of ISIS. The technology was eroding important legal principles established over the last century and more, intended to set limits on the use of military force. Last year the then UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson and his colleague Rory Stewart argued, contrary to International Law, that all British members of terror groups should be hunted down and killed. In Chris’s view this is totally unlawful and immoral, but was indicative of where drone warfare is taking the world. 4. Drones: The myth of precise and surgical warfare Drones enable, so we are told, ‘precision’ air strikes that ‘take out’ the bad guys but leave the innocent untouched; meaning we can achieve control over the chaos of war using new technology. Chris pointed out however that ‘precision’ in military doctrine does not mean ‘accurate’; there is no such thing as an accurate airstrike.
Airwars, which tracks reports of civilian casualties in the Syrian war, has detailed between 7,000 and 11,000 civilian casualties resulting from all coalition bombing, in around 30,000 air strikes. The US accepts it has killed over 1000 civilians in Syria. While early Christians were urging people to love their enemies and engage in non-violent peace-making, contemporary Roman military commander Flavius Vegetius Renatus wrote: “If you want peace, prepare for war”. Chris concluded by saying that time and again today, people of faith adhered to the Roman ‘might is right’ ideology. We should be tackling the root causes of injustice around the world – and this would address the real drivers of insecurity. Chris said that instead of pouring resources into more lethal ways of killing each other, we need to be addressing global inequality by devoting resources to achieving sustainable development goals. We should be employing our brightest and best to developing renewable energy resources and tackling climate change – a security threat to millions world-wide.
In June our parish CAFOD contact person suggested at a meeting of the Pastoral Council that we take up the campaign ‘Care for our Common Home’. A Group was set up to plan. It was asked to ensure that the voices of young people be heard. One meeting and a flurry of emails later, together with visits to Schools to encourage them to get involved – and a week of events began to emerge. We launched on the first Sunday of September, the Season of Creation, with an enthusiastic speaker from CAFOD and an attractive programme flyer, designed by a Sixth Form student and distributed to all. Quotes from Laudato Si came through September; leaflets were distributed locally to ecumenical partners and to deanery parishes; parishioners were encouraged to sign up for events in the week ending with the feast of St Francis, October 4th; 70 folk signed the CAFOD petition to the Prime Minister; a pledge board for suggestions for change of lifestyle filled with post-its.
The Youth Creation Mass on September 29th found a packed church. Our schools and all the parish youth groups rose to the occasion. – an art-work banner produced by Youth for Christ adorned the sanctuary; children sang their own songs of creation as they processed in; young people read readings and bidding prayers. Mass closed with an a cappella group of sixth formers singing of the need to love all creation and seek climate justice. This was composed by a gifted parent who also choreographed the whole mass. The atmosphere was of a joyful eucharist and communion of thanksgiving and hope for change. It led into the week’s varied events:
A dozen brave parishioners were conducted round our Northcliffe conservation area by Brian Gresswell. Cold,wet and very enjoyable!
Tuesday: a guided tour round our local conservation area; in the evening thirty parishioners celebrated Creation with poetry, wine and nibbles;
Fr Gerry Hanlon gave an entertaining if sobering account of the impact of climate change on the Amazon rain forest observed in his over 50 years spent as part of the Diocesan Mission to Peru in Iquitos
Wednesday Fr Gerry Hanlon of the parish told his stories, entertaining but sobering, of his over 50 years experiences in Peru, many of them spent observing the growing destruction of the forests by commercial interests (logging, cattle and oil);
Thursday Paul Rogers, formerly of the Bradford University School of Peace Studies kept an audience of over 40 absorbed in his description of why politicians and world governments have been so slow to address the threats of climate change;
Friday our week concluded with a final creation mass to celebrate the feast of St Francis and an excellent Italian meal.
What was achieved? The voices of the young (literally!) have begun to be heard; young people working with ‘wise elders’ together. The process empowers our community to heed Jesus’s command to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God’ by linking that search directly to the call for climate justice. The idea is slowly dawning that they are not different. Folk took small steps to walk together as companions.
Talking must lead to further action. Parishioners are making suggestions. A small campaign group aims to take these forward into proposals. One World Week in October and then Advent gives us opportunities to invite parishioners to view the Bishops’ two films: ‘Global Healing’ and ‘Global Caring’. The Year of Scripture will provide opportunities to read the Scriptures with new eyes as the source of ‘seeking first the kingdom’. We do not know whether our parish will move to reduce its climate footprint, or create a vegetable area, or cut single use plastic, or find ways to reduce its use of fossil fuels in its plans for new heating and lighting? But it might!
St. Monica’s provides good quality temporary accommodation and provides each woman £25 a week to help with living costs. The women usually stay with us for six months giving them a period of stability, a postal address and time to progress their asylum claim free from housing worries.
(Positive Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers).During the year April 2018 to March 2019 we provided approximately 2000 days (and nights!) of accommodation.The women come from many different countries. Some of the more recent ones are: Eritrea, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Mali.
