Bishop Vincent’s address to the Australian Refugee Action Network’s (ARAN) Palm Sunday National Day of Action ‘Justice for Refugees Permanent Protection for All Refugees’
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
2 April 2023
Dear friends,
Thank you for being here in this march for refugees, social justice and peace. We join many others across Australia and indeed across the globe to form a chorus for peace, human solidarity and a hope-filled vision for future generations.
I am a former boat person. I fled war-torn Vietnam in the wake of the communist takeover of South Vietnam, not unlike the Afghan, Syrian, Iraqi refugees of today. What has changed is the Australian government’s response to the issue over the years. I hope to see the same level of bipartisan support for refugees now as there was for me and my fellow boat people in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
We have recently made some modest progress for refugees. We welcome the Albanese Government’s promise to give permanent visas to 19,000 refugees on Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas. But there are thousands of other refugees with no promise of permanent visas: 10,000 people rejected under the Coalition’s unfair fast-track processing system, including many now threatened with deportation. 150 refugees still stranded on Nauru and PNG. 1,200 Medevac refugees and families from Nauru who are now in Australia but told they cannot stay in Australia.
We call on the Government to implement a fairer process for all affected by the unjust fast-track process and provide an adequate safety net for all asylum seekers; to resettle all people still subject to offshore processing and move them to Australia while they await resettlement; to make detention a last resort and improve living conditions for those detained for security reasons.
It is time for us to reclaim Australia as a responsible world citizen, a wealthy and resourceful nation capable to rise to new challenges as it did throughout history –the kind of Australia that refugees like myself are living testament to. It is time to re-enshrine the best of our traditions with policies that reflect our solidarity, human decency and care for the most vulnerable.
It is also time to build a culture of encounter, dialogue and cooperation instead of resorting to suspicion, mistrust and warmongering. Rather than defaulting to military options, we need to ask how human security, both at home and abroad – and the security of all creation – might best be served at this time. The AUKUS deal raises questions that touch the core of a healthy and mature democracy.
Governments have a duty to provide for the defense of their people, but how they do that, and how much they spend, is a matter on which the whole community should reflect. What could this money do to combat poverty and growing inequality in Australia and globally? Will this plan make us, our country, our region and our planet, safer?
In his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis sets out a vision for the human family, built on a culture of dialogue and encounter. He reminds us that “international peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power” but rather requires mutual trust which “can be built only through dialogue that is truly directed to the common good”. If we want to live in peace with our near neighbours, and with old and new powers, increasing our military strike capacity is not the answer.
My friends,
We gather today as people of faith and commitment to shape the future of this country in a way that gives hope to future generations. Inspired by the Gospel, we join our fellow citizens in working towards a just and equitable society, one that is characterised by respect for its First Nations peoples and fair treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
We do so in memory of Jesus who walked into Jerusalem to bring to fulfilment God’s vision of a world united in peace, harmony and life flourishing for all.
All of His life, He bore witness to this vision by His prophetic stance for the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden. In Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection, we see the triumph of truth, justice and love over violence, dominance and exclusion. In Him, we see an embodiment of a vision of an inclusive community, bound by a bond of human dignity, solidarity and service.
May we follow the example of the Suffering Servant who shows us the way of disarming hatred with love, evil with goodness, violence with benevolence, indifference with compassion. May our commitment to heal and transform our wounded humanity and our broken earth be brought to fruition in accordance with God’s plan in Christ.
