Scottish Catholic Observer

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said the Synod on the Family cannot ignore the impact of the refugee crisis on families.

“We should have the integrity of the family foremost in our minds,” the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster said, speaking about the many families who have become separated by the migrant crisis.

“They should be given the opportunity to reconnect with their families,” he added. “These family identities are important, and I don’t think that’s being given the attention that it could in the response of European governments to this flow of people across Europe.”

Cardinal Nichols, representative of the bishops of England and Wales at synod, has repeatedly called for Britain to accept more migrants.

“The British Government has some very strict rules, even for British citizens, as to whether they can bring their non-British spouses into the country,” he said. “There are aspects of British government policy which mitigate against the integrity of the family. That is something that we would want really to press, and have been doing so for a while.”

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