Today, Sunday 21 June is a Day of Prayer for Refugees and Migrants 

Caritas Aotearoa prepares resources for this day on behalf of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops.  We share an extract from their introductory statement below:

The theme, “Where is your brother or sister?”, was taken from Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium where he speaks of his distress about the various forms of human trafficking. He quotes the book of Genesis and challenges us not to look the other way but to recognize our migrant brothers and sisters who are experiencing exploitation. Migrants and refugees are part of our community, but they may not always be seen or heard.

This theme is particularly topical given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, as migrant communities will be among the most vulnerable to the impacts. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the economy worldwide, here in New Zealand, the government has been quick to offer emergency benefits to New Zealanders – however one big chunk of the workforce who are missing out are migrant workers.

A number of our own Dominican Family have ministered with refugees and migrants.  A few years ago Patricia Hannan wrote of her experience working with refugees.  You may like to read this story by following the link.

For more information and resources on migrants and refugees go to:

Vatican Refugee and Migrant Section: https://migrants-refugees.va/ (they have loads of photos, videos and content)

Caritas DOPFRM 2020 resources: https://caritas.org.nz/parishes/day-of-prayer