Israel: Catholic Church offers refuge for migrants

image from Latin Patriarchate

A special Mass was celebrated for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, on Saturday, in the parish of St Anthony in Jaffa, Israel, with the many migrant communities, Pierre Loup de Raucourt, reports on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Gathering the faithful from at least thirteen or fourteen countries to celebrate a Mass is not common in Israel. “Look around you,” stated Father David Neuhaus during his homily. “Look at the brothers and sisters the Lord has given us, in their diversity of origin and culture, language and colour – Filipinos, Indians, Eritreans and Ethiopians, Sri Lankans, Romanians, Nigerians, Latin Americans, Poles, Russians, Ghanaians, Lebanese, Arabs and Jews, Israelis and Palestinians and many others!”

This diversity of nationalities participating in a Mass shows the importance of immigration that the Israeli government is facing. There are nearly 53,000 asylum seekers in the country, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, among them 40,000 are Christians. And there are over 200,000 migrant workers as well.

In highlighting this gathering, the selected songs came from around the world. The universal prayer was read in eight different languages. Readings were chosen for the occasion, the Gospel was about the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt, recognizing the persecution of infants by Herod. A significant reality for migrants who have left everything, often risking their lives, live in difficult conditions and often precarious situations after having arrived in Israel.

The migrant’s daily concern is to be able to work legally and earn money to support the family. But this Mass was an opportunity to rejoice. “We come to celebrate, we pray and we proclaim our faith,” recalled Fr Neuhaus. “We want to be witnesses that this celebration is a great joy. In our world, outside the Church, the reaction to the arrival of migrants is not always a celebration. Often their arrival rather provokes reactions of suspicion and hostility.”

To read full report and see a gallery of pictures from the event see: http://en.lpj.org/2014/01/20/the-church-in-jaffa-a-refuge-for-migrants/