Booking: Southwark JPIC gathering in Dover

Nuncio, Archbishop Gugerotti greets refugee at Napier Barracks. Image: Mazur/CBCEW.org.uk

'Caught in the Act' is the title for the June Assembly organised by the Southwark Archdiocesan Commission for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, the Act in question being the new Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

The chosen venue is Dover, on the fringe of the diocese, an iconic venue for the arrival of asylum seekers who are starting to become entangled in the provisions of this legislation. And the date? Saturday 25 June at the end of Refugee Week.

But this day has become the third in three days of rail strikes and Network Southeast has stated that there will be no service to Dover. Should we, therefore, cancel or postpone the Assembly, which addresses a timely topic and for which some knowledgeable speakers are lined up?

Images of Dover now feature in almost every news bulletin alongside half-truths such as that "these young men have come directly from Europe and most of them must therefore be economic migrants, not refugees" and that "they come to sponge off our generous benefits system and should use 'legal' routes to make asylum claims". We surely must not cancel or delay this opportunity to hear just what is happening at the coast.

Actually, rail travel has been used by only a minority of past participants in Dover events and the roads remain open. If the M20 is congested the M2 is an excellent alternative, in fact preferred by many. The decision is to go ahead and add a live video stream that can additionally be viewed far beyond the boundaries of the diocese.

So, do still come down to the coast, if you can, and enjoy the hospitality and hot lunch provided by the Dover parishioners; please contact the JPIC Office ( jpiccontact@rcaos.org.uk ) if possible, to let us know that you are coming, so that there are enough chairs and food! Or if you are not driving, contact the JPIC Office to find out the livestream link.

Proceedings will start at 11am, with the doors open from 10.40am, and we will conclude with a 4pm visit to the seafront plaques that remember deaths in the Channel.

The aim is to help people to discern the correct actions to take when faced with evident injustice. We will have accounts of life in and around Calais, of life in UK detention centres and ex-military premises (with residents from the nearby Napier Barracks expected to join us), of the welcome being given to Ukrainian citizens, and a concluding outline of relevant Church Teaching and the continuing pleas for support from Pope Francis.