Scottish Catholic Observer

The Holy Father (above) was marking World Refugee Day at his general audience in the Vatican and said it was important to give ‘special consideration’ to families of refugees.

“[They are] often forced to leave their home and their homeland quickly, to leave all they own and every security, to flee from violence, persecution or grave discrimination on religious, ethnic or political grounds,” he said. “In addition to the dangers of the journey, often these families risk disintegration and, in the country that receives them, having to deal with cultures and societies that different from their own. We cannot be insensitive to the families and to all our brothers and sisters refugees: we are called to help them, opening up to understanding and hospitality. May people and institutions around the world never fail to assist them: their face, is the face of Christ!”

To commemorate World Refugee Day a new exhibition in being launched in Rome on Thursday entitled Sanctuary and Sustenance. The exhibition is being presented by the Jesuit Refugee Service and will be taking place at the Gesu Church in Rome, while the photos will also be on display in both Beirut and New York. The photos tell the stories of both refugees and asylum seekers from Syria and Conga who have been forced to leave their own country due to war, persecution and other human rights violations.

Conflicts like this have resulted in the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) supporting more than 100,000 people per month in both the Middle East and North Africa. Director of the JRS Fr Peter Balleis SJ said his origanistiaon were currently very active in Syria.

“In Syria with the President of the Jesuits and the local Churches we work together with a whole network reaching out with food, sustenance,” he said. “But we do together not just with the Christian Churches but we do it together with Muslim a lot of volunteer people, so there is a term which goes beyond the compassion which is in all people and also is rooted in all the religions, so that is very important for us in Syria.”