On the occasion of today's celebration of World Refugee Day, the bishops of the Subcommission for Migration and Human Mobility of the Spanish Episcopal Conference issued a note in which they recall that more than 30 million people are in this situation, and have been particularly affected by the consequences of the coronavirus crisis.
The bishops have described the challenges posed by the Pope in the face of migration, stressing that the Spanish Church welcomes "the just demands of these people who knock on our doors, and whom we are currently accompanying from the parishes and other entities, especially when they are unfortunately left outside the reception facilities and living with serious legal uncertainties.
For this reason, they urged to urgently seek "effective, supportive and creative ways to meet the challenges that Pope Francis is launching in order to assist those fleeing serious humanitarian crises: "Increase and simplify the granting of visas,
adopt private and community sponsorship programs,
opening humanitarian corridors for the most vulnerable refugees,
to provide adequate and decent accommodations,
ensure personal safety and access to basic services,
ensure consular assistance,
the right to have personal identification documents with them at all times,
equal access to justice,
the possibility of opening bank accounts and the guarantee of the basics for life's subsistence,
give them the possibility of movement and the possibility of working,
protect minors and ensure their regular access to education,
provide for temporary custody or foster care programs,
guarantee religious freedom,
to promote social inclusion,
to promote family reunification and prepare communities for integration processes" (FT n. 130).
