From Leeds Asylum Seekers’ Support Network We wanted to share this amazing initiative put together by the Together With Refugees campaign, entitled “A Fair New Plan For Refugees”. Below you can find an excerpt from their recent newsletter.
Refugees & migrants
01 Oct – SPARK World Migrant Day event
On Sunday 29 September, SPARK organised a partnership event with Caritas Catholic Care. To celebrate the World Day for Migrants and Refugees’ We heard the stories of some of the people who have been helped to re-settle in the Yorkshire area with help from Caritas Catholic Care. They are an official Government partner for the […]
08 Sep – World Day of Migrants & Refugees
By Kathy Shaw, SPARK Project ManagerThe Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on the last Sunday in September since 1914. It is always an occasion to highlight the need for global unity in supporting refugees; to pray for different vulnerable people on the move as they face many challenges; and […]
01 May – CAFOD’s Sudan Emergency Appeal
CAFOD launches emergency appeal to support ‘world’s worst crisis’ in Sudan CAFOD has launched an emergency appeal to support families in Sudan, as Britain’s Ambassador to the United Nations says that Sudan is in the grip of the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis. With over eight million people having fled their homes to escape […]
10 Jul – From Asylum Seeker to Priest: A Journey of Faith
By Father Yemane AradomI was a stranger and you welcomed me… (Mt 25:35)I am Father Yemane Aradom. I was born in Sudan and raised in Eritrea. My childhood was a happy one and I grew up in a loving Christian family. I will tell you the main events of my story which took me from […]
20 Jun – Refugee Week events across the Leeds Diocese
By Matthew Maslen, J&P Newsletter editorThis week (19th – 25th June), is Refugee Week. This year, the 25th Anniversary of Refugee Week, the theme is Compassion.The organisers, Refugee Week UK, “invite you to celebrate what compassion looks like in action”. They call on us to draw on our experiences to help us to be compassionate […]
People on the Move
By John Battle, Commission ChairOur human story has always been a story of ‘people on the move’ as is well reflected in both the history of evolution and the Biblical tradition. Initially people are thought to have emerged from the Rift Valley in Africa some 2 million years ago (though anthropologists today recognise some 15-20 […]
07 May – Commission writes to Home Secretary over ‘New Plan for immigration’
John Battle, on behalf of the Commission has written the following letter to the Home Secretary regarding recent proposals from Government about immigration:-Dear Home Secretary,The Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Diocese of Leeds is alarmed by the proposals for asylum seekers as outlined in the Government’s New Plan for Immigration, which we consider […]
06 Feb -Update on LEDAS (Leeds Destitute Asylum Seekers Network)
By Tony Pickles, Trustee of LEDASWhat a year 2020 turned out to be. With a pandemic which unfolded at lightning speed, so too have other things taken record time to develop. Who would have thought a vaccine could be brought in for use in just a few months, not just one but several possibilities are […]
25 Jun – Imaginative work about Refugee Week
Schools may have been in lockdown but children from the Faith in Action group at St Benedict’s primary school in Garforth had already decided to do some work on International Days. The idea is to broaden out the childrens’ views of what it might mean to take action because of their faith: that it is […]
08 Feb – expanding involvement in the Syrian refugee Resettlement Scheme
An interview with Sue Parsons – the new part-time Community Sponsorship Coordinator at Catholic Care Who are you?I’m Sue Parsons and I live in the parish of St Francis of Assissi and the Immaculate Conception, Bradford. I’ve just been appointed Community Sponsorship Coordinator at Catholic Care, so I work across the diocese and at the […]
23 Jan – St Monica’s Housing needs a Treasurer
St Monica’s Housing Ltd. is a small charity providing accommodation for failed women asylum seekers. It is based in Leeds and is working to extend to other parts of the Diocese. Members of the Commission were instrumental in helping to set this charity up and continue to be involved. We quite regularly provide updates about […]
15 Jan Living with Hope and Courage in a Hostile Environment
Sr Maria Crowley of the Holy Family Sisters, Bradford reflects on their work with asylum seekersThis is a real challenge to us, in these dark times, where we are confronted daily with the great harm, we are capable of doing to each other. As we listen to the news and read the newspapers we hear […]
02 Dec – Great Progress at St Monica’s Housing
This update was provided by John McLaughlin, a member of the St.Monica’s Housing Management Committee and a member of the J&P CommissionSt. 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 […]
28 Nov – Settle Re-SETTLEment update
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 […]
10 Nov – Wakefield Refugee Response Meeting
By Lucy Irven, Facilitator for the Diocesan Refugee Support GroupOnce 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 […]