Text: Bishop Paul McAleenan at Home Office Prayer Vigil

Bishop Paul McAleenan at the vigil

Bishop Paul McAleenan, Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees and Racial Justice issues in the Catholic Bishops Conference, gave the following reflection yesterday, at the Prayer Vigil outside the Home Office - marking the beginning of World Refugee Week.

'Over 9,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats between January and 9 June this year'. With these words we immediately have an image of crammed vessels tossing up and down on the waves, the occupants trying to grasp anything at hand that would help their stability. The adults wondering what lies ahead, the children bewildered.

If I then said well actually it was 2,000 people who made the journey would that image in your mind change? if I said 8,000, you would form the same image. If I said 20,000 what difference would there be as regards that picture that you have? If I said one person immediately our heart goes out to them and we feel the terror of that one person.

There is a danger with statistics, the greater the number the more impressed we are. Numbers can obscure the essential uniqueness of the individual. With statistics we think of a great blob of humanity and in our imagination no one is different from the other.

Confining myself to this year I can tell you 9,142 individuals crossed the channel in those boats so far in 2026, 9,142 different faces, 9,142 different reasons for making the journey, 9,142 stories of all what happened to them since the day they left their homeland. 9,142 now here unwanted in rundown centres and hotels.

In a visit to the centre to Wethersfield, in Braintree, Essex, I met someone, from Iran, sitting in a hut, where he also slept. He recounted his journey from his home, his journey across the Mediterranean, across northern Europe and then the channel. He spoke about his reasons for setting out and what he had endured.

Eventually I asked what his he had worked at before leaving, he told, this was later by a Home Office official that he was a brain surgeon. He had exchanged his life as a brain surgeon, for a life of destitution, a highly qualified medic had exchanged his title to be now known as a seeker of asylum.

I give that as an example of the importance of the encounter that Pope Francis used to speak about. It doesn't matter of course if one is highly qualified or has no qualifications, as Francis also said, every migrant has a face, a name, a story. Statistics fail to capture the wider, complex stories of those who choose to migrate and undertake dangerous journeys.

Government and civil servants wrack their brains seeking new ways to stop the crossings. Legislation, and we have had two major Acts of Parliament, didn't stop the crossings. Threats are not stopping the crossings. Joint efforts between the great powers of France and the UK aren't stopping the crossings. Despite plentiful policy boat journeys continue because the longing of the human spirit for freedom and a better life cannot be extinguished. Desperation for safety and better prospects is stronger than the threat of harsher policies.

While the root causes of the reasons for migration remain, the policy of responsible government which believes in humanitarian values, is to provide safe, attainable routes for those in danger.

Policies designed to placate opponents of migration, policies which do not reflect our belief in the dignity of each person must be opposed. Besides those policies do not acknowledge that communities in England and Wales are in fact welcoming and resilient.

In the Gospel reading Jesus was there when Peter was in danger, speaking words of encouragement to him and reaching out his hand to hold him up and bring him to safety. At the start of this Refugee Week I thank you for all you do.

Last week Pope Leo in Tenerife spoke about what he described as a 'silent shipwreck' that occurs after migrants arrive safely. Many die crossing the sea. Others when they reach their destination face isolation, exploitation and exclusion. In their new homeland they are without ties, work or a sense of security.

I thank you for your raised voices on behalf of those on dangerous journeys demanding safe routes. I thank you for your outstretched hands like those of Jesus to Peter giving assistance to our brothers and sisters who have arrived. In doing so you are saying in unison with Pope Leo,' we will not let your dignity be washed away in the waters you have crossed'.

LINK

Record numbers attend Home Office Prayer Vigil: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/55226