Refugees In Australia

The world today is witnessing the highest levels of home displacement and refugees ever recorded, and it is occurring everywhere. 22.5 million refugees were recognised in 2016 all over the world, and in Australia alone, 182 thousand people migrated over to this country because of many different reasons (UNHCR, 2018). This issue relates to suffering, good and evil, and Catholic decision making, and will be explored further in this essay.
Catholic social teachings take a strong stand on the issues of asylum, forced displacement, and migration. In particular, the social teachings of Dignity of the Human Person, and Preferential Option for the Poor. Dignity of the Human Person states that no human should have their dignity or freedom compromised,

as we all have god given respect (Caritas, 2018). That irrespective of where we live, what we own, or what we look like, each of us is made in God’s image and should therefore be treated fairly. This teaching further illustrates the suffering that is evident on the issue of refugees, and how we should be treating the awful situation instead of forcing them out of their homes. The idea of treating every person the way you would like to be treated. Preferential Option for the Poor is the idea that God made our world, and he wants us to share the things we need; food, clean water, medicine, education, shelter (Caritas, 2018). The needs of the poor take priority over desires of the rich. Refugees usually have all these items taken away from them, resulting in a period of everlasting suffering. This is seen in Myanmar, where there is an immense amount of violence occurring, resulting in hundreds of thousands of men, women and children being displaced from their homes with nowhere to flee to (Save the Children, 2018). This moral evil is the reason why Myanmar is one of the highest rankings of countries holding refugees. These social teachings are reliable, as they were created from the church, and stand by what Catholics believe. Home displacement is happening everyday somewhere in the world, and the catholic social teachings provide vision for a just society in which the dignity of all people is recognised, and those who are vulnerable are cared for (Catholic Social Services Australia, 2018). Along with Catholic Social Teachings, another form of enlightening are bible scriptures relating to refugees.
There are many Bible scriptures and references that explain Catholic ethical decision making related to the issue of refugees, and how we should be reacting to the situation according to God. Firstly, in Matthew 5:11-12, it states that “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” This is in itself a message of hope to those who are experiencing displacement from home, that even in times of suffering, God is still looking down and blessing you. It then continues as “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” This implies that even though suffering is evident in your life, God has promised that a good life will be given to you in return in heaven. This same message is similarly portrayed in Luke 6:22-23. Another scripture is Matthew 7:12. The message in this is to do to others what you would have them do to you. If you apply this to refugees, it helps to understand that if you wouldn’t want to get forced out of your country/home, don’t persecute others to force them out of their country/home. One of the ten commandments can also furthermore be related to the topic of refugees. In Exodus 20:15, it states “You shall not steal.” Forcing people out of a country because of reasons such as war or persecution would be considered stealing, as it was never your right to take away their dignity in the first place, relating back to the Catholic Social Teaching. All these examples are reliable sources, as they all come straight from the bible and are non-biased. Along with the Bible and Catholic social teachings, the Catholic Catechism also helps to explain the Catholic ethical decision making related to suffering within the problem of refugees.

The Catholic Catechism is very useful in explaining the suffering associated with refugees and the way our conscience makes choices relating to the problem.

Within the whole book, many references to refugees are made that describe the way Christians are supposed to be treating refugees. Pope John Paul II even quoted that the issue is a “shameful wound of our time.” In chapter 2211, it exclaims that “the political community has a duty to honour the family, to assist it, and to ensure especially the right to private property, to free enterprise, to obtain work and housing, and the right to emigrate.” All these points go against the idea of home displacement and what is occurring and is therefore in a way moral evil, as no one has a right to take away someone’s home, unless of course it is because of natural disasters. In that case it would be considered natural evil. Another similar chapter is 2241. “The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extend they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and means of livelihood which he cannot find in his own country of origin.” This response would influence a Catholics ethical decision making in response to the issue, as it would guide a person to always embrace any visitors/guests to their country, instead of treating them the opposite. This same message is very similarly portrayed in chapter 1926, as it exclaims that “everyone should be concerned and support institutions that improve the condition of human life.” As all these examples originally came from a church book authorised by the Pope, John Paul II, they would be considered extremely reliable. All the chapters in the Catechism sum up the beliefs of the Catholic faithful, and thereby should be followed and considered

properly.
Overall, the response of the Catholic church through the uses of Catholic social teachings, the Bible, and the Catechism, has proven to be extremely useful on the effect of decision making by Christians while on the topic of refugees. It has been shown that the way Catholics portray how we should treat refugees through their resources can affect the decisions our conscience makes and helps to portray the suffering and evil that is truly clear in the issue.