In his message for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo takes up the Day’s theme of Migrants, Missionaries of Hope, stating that “In a world darkened by war and injustice … migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope.”
This year Australia recognises the 50th anniversary of Indochinese settlement after the Vietnam War when, over two decades, our country settled over 150,000 people. They came in fear, but with a hope that was realised in a welcoming re-settlement.
During Refugee Week in June, I represented the St Vincent de Paul Society at a Department of Home Affairs event to acknowledge both the success of that re-settlement, and the close collaboration of government and community organisations that underpinned that success.
During that event and afterwards, many wondered, with our own feelings of hope, whether Australia could adopt this approach to the continuing world refugee crisis, rather than the current callous actions that characterise many Federal Government policies towards people seeking asylum in our country.
Pope Leo has made his view clear on this in a post from his message stating:
“The communities that welcome migrants and refugees can be a living witness of a society where the dignity of all as children of God is recognised and in which all are brothers and sisters, part of the same family.”
So how can we Catholics be such witnesses?
Firstly, we can help people seeking asylum, suffering under unjust Government policies, by helping the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Sydney and the Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project (BASP) in Melbourne, the two cities with the largest numbers of these vulnerable people.
Secondly, we can encourage the Government to make positive changes to end this injustice at its root cause. During the Federal election campaign, the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA), of which Vinnies is a member, called for the new Government to make four simple improvements to address the key challenges.
1. Welcome More Refugees
In 2023 the United Nations estimated 2 million refugees needed urgent resettlement. But only 160,000 were settled in that year, with the United States being the major recipient and Australia taking 20,000 under its humanitarian intake. By 2025, the UN figure was 2.9 million, while the new US Government suspended its program.
Australia should increase its humanitarian intake, including by expanding community support programs, which support arrivals to integrate into our community, as we did for Indochinese refugees 50 years ago.
2. Ending Uncertainty for People Seeking Asylum
More than 7000 people have been living in our community for 13 years, suffering under the unfair ‘fast track’ refugee assessment process. This process resulted in higher-than-normal rates of rejection, increasing the risk of unsafe deportation. So, these people now live in fear that they may be returned to danger in their homeland.
Furthermore, these people (many with children born here) have strong connections in our community and make important contributions to our country. A trickle of such grants has started, but with only 19 granted in the last five months of 2024. At that rate, it would take more than a century to process the full 7000!
The Federal Government should provide fair and timely pathways to permanency in Australia for all still subject to the unjust ‘fast track’ regime.
3. Give All Asylum Seekers Work Rights and Access to Key Services
Thousands of people seeking asylum can’t work because they don’t have work rights; or they have family responsibilities, chronic health issues, disabilities or are elderly.
Only about 1000 have access to payments from the Status Resolution Support Service (SRSS) leaving at least 5000 vulnerable people destitute, with no income and many with no access to Medicare. This is unfair, unjust and cannot be justified.
All people seeking asylum should have work rights, access to key services such as Medicare and housing, and financial support if they are unable to work.
4. End Offshore Processing
It’s 12 years since Australia forcibly moved 4000 people to PNG and Nauru for processing of their refugee claims. There are still 36 people in Port Moresby, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Many have no hope of safe re-settlement. All have serious medical conditions, most which can’t be treated effectively in PNG.
There are also about 1,000 people, medically evacuated from PNG and Nauru to Australia over that 12-year period, who are still here. Government policy is that they will never be permanently settled here. So, they live on visas that need renewal every few weeks or at most every 6 months. Around 700 have no prospect of safe, permanent re-settlement and so live in fear of deportation to an unsafe homeland.
There are also still around 100 people on Nauru, transferred there in the last two years. Their health is deteriorating in the same way as it did with previous detainees. And any found to be refugees will have no path to safe resettlement.
Offshore processing must be abolished immediately. Those currently in offshore detention should be brought to Australia and, together with those already here, they should be quickly resettled permanently in our country.
World Day of Migrants and Refugees: 4-5 October 2025
For this weekend, I ask Australian Catholics to do three things:
Firstly beforehand, please ask your parish to use the Australian kit provided at the ACMRO website, to pray for refugees and people seeking asylum world-wide and in our country: then pray that our Government does more to resolve those issues.
Secondly, support organisations, such as JRS and BASP who are helping the most vulnerable people seeking asylum in Australia.
Finally, call on our Government to implement CAPSA’s proposals so that we become, in Pope Leo’s words, “a living witness of a society where the dignity of all as children of God is recognised and in which all are brothers and sisters, part of the same family.”
And in doing all this, we might note Pope Leo’s reminder for this Day, from the final chapter of St Paul’s Letter to Hebrews: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb 13:2).
Photo: Chair of the Vincentian Refugee Network, Tim McKenna (right) at the Home Affairs Refugee Week event with, among others, Governor-General of Australia, Her Excellency Sam Mostyn (back row, centre), and Member for Canberra, Alicia Payne MP (left). Photo courtesy Alicia Payne MP. Tim McKenna
Chair, Vincentian Refugee Network
Back to the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2025 Online Resources.