Cardinals urge EU bishops to launch relocation projects for refugees in Greece

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Source: COMECE/Vatican Youtube

Three leading Cardinals have outline in a letter to EU Episcopal Conferences a strong call for relocation projects for refugee families stuck indefinitely in Lesbos and other reception camps in Greece.

In the letter, described as: "An invitation for the whole Church to awaken new evangelical energies of welcome in each of the member countries of the European Union," Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, Archbishop of Luxembourg and President of COMECE, conveys the concerns of Pope Francis for the plight of more than 20,000 adults and over 1,100 unaccompanied minors living in precarious and overcrowded structures "in Europe but outside of the European society."

Encouraged by the Holy Father's words and following the successful experiences with the relocation and integration of refugee families in the Vatican City and in the Archdiocese of Luxembourg, Card. Hollerich invites the Church in the EU "not to remain indifferent" and to give back hope to these persons.

The letter is accompanied by the document "Guidelines on the procedure for the transfer of asylum seekers and refugees from Greece to a European country". This document was elaborated by the Community of Sant'Egidio and provides Bishops' Conferences with all technical information necessary to receive and integrate these persons and families.

The other two signatories of the letter are Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, Under Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of Papal Charities.

Cardinal Hollerich has also released a short video from the desperately overcrowded refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, in which he says: 'If Europe still wants to use the adjective "Christian," now is the time to show it through active charity, opening humanitarian corridors for migrants.

LINKS

Read the full letter here: www.comece.eu/dl/KkmmJMOJkmMMJqx4KJK/EN_-_Lettera_per_Conferenze_Episcopali_Europee.pdf?ts=1582209485

Watch Cardinal Hollerich speaking from Lesbos here:www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=Rs7TSmkAAMo&feature=emb_title&ts=1582210085