The Church of Ireland: No Room at the Inn

by redjade Fri May 19, 2006 17:03

''We had hoped that Tuesday's meeting between representatives of the asylum seekers and the Department of Justice officials or yesterday's meeting with Mr Manuel Jordao, representing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, would have resulted in the opening of dialogue that could have led to a resolution.

However, this was not so. As Christians, we are deeply moved by the humanitarian plight of this group, who have been on hunger strike since Sunday. We fully acknowledge the extensive formal process that exists to facilitate asylum seekers making application to have their status legally approved to remain in Ireland. We also see the deep hurt and sense of lost human dignity among this group of people.

We must appeal to all of the asylum seekers at this stage to end their hunger strike and protest before matters deteriorate further.''

read the rest at
http://www.ireland.anglican.org/pressreleases/index.php...p=660

Most Revd Dr John Neill

by redjade Fri May 19, 2006 17:09

The Irish Churches are especially conscious of the fact that the primary work of developing and extending the Christian faith on this island was carried out by St. Patrick, a non-Irish outsider. It is believed Patrick was a citizen of the Roman Empire and he was first brought to our shores as an involuntary immigrant, by slavery. Our Celtic, Christian inheritance and perhaps inspired by the Patrick story, has bequeathed a fitting legacy, in its own understanding and practice of cherishing the stranger, in

‘A Celtic Blessing for Hospitality’:-
I saw a stranger yestreen,
I put food in the eating place
drink in the drinking place
music in the listening place
and in the sacred name of the Triune God
He blessed myself and my house
my cattle and my dear ones
and the lark said in her song
often, often, often
goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.

above and more from:
http://www.ireland.anglican.org/issues/immigration.html

by redjade Fri May 19, 2006 17:40

Archbishop: Church no place for refugees
Washtimes.com (US Media)

"That was something that was there in ancient times,"
the archbishop told Web site Ireland On-Line.

St. Patrick's Cathedral is "not an appropriate place for them to be because
it is not a place with proper facilities," Neill said.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20060515-053924-4588r.htm

watch Mr Archbishop Neill humiliate himself and his church around the world as the global media suddenly become aware of what is happening today and the Church of Ireland's complicity in it.

'not a place with proper facilities'

by anon Fri May 19, 2006 18:54

Mr Hotak said the group had received a letter this morning from Church of Ireland officials asking them to stop their protest and leave the church.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2006/05/19/story259509.html

by anon Fri May 19, 2006 20:04

A statement from the Church of Ireland this evening confirmed that they are now pursuing legal options to bring the stand-off to an end.

by uh? Fri May 19, 2006 22:40

Except of course Saint Patrick's where there was no evensong.
Psalm number 107 deals with refugees and unjust government. It refers constantly to thirst, hunger, and exile.I rather think that Church of Ireland clergy & laiety alike would have been very moved as they read those words today. Give yourself a bit of time and read those words by David & note the irony. Or maybe you prefer irony. The Anglican church has given sanctuary to Mordachai Vanunu in Jerusalem for many years, he lives above the chapterhouse, is allowed female visitors and whiskey, the Israeli Defence Forces have attempted to enter many times, and the Anglican church divested its global stock holding the Tel Aviv markets, resulting in a slump.
read that psalm

by redjade Sat May 20, 2006 01:37

'the Anglican church divested its global stock holding the Tel Aviv markets, resulting in a slump.'

interesting...
It doesn't seem that the Church of Ireland has such vision, nor backbone. Instead it has turned jesus away and sent him and his family off to the romans, and for what? That would be an interesting question to have answered.

'The guy started this to record the Church's actions on the case'

no worry, i always appreciate iosaf's smartarse - usually its a delayed reaction for me. get the jokes at inopportune times

'with his own little ditty 'Every Song Is A Cry For Love'.'

we had the misfortune of not being able to take refuge from Brian Kennedy last night sitting in in budapest - oi vey!

——————

I find UN High Commissioner for Refugees' representative in Ireland, Manuel Jordao most disturbing today.

Quoting the Associated Press:
'Jordao said more than four million Afghans worldwide have been deported
since 2002 back to their homeland, where the extremist Taliban
government was toppled by a U.S.-led invasion. "It is not acceptable to
say, 'I am Afghan, therefore I am a refugee,"' he said.'

Mr Jordao, even Mikey McD knows that you are supposed to say that each case is individual and that you cannot deport people en masse - and most certainly you, as UN High Commissioner for Refugees' representative in Ireland would know this, right? right?!

And Mr Jordao, even if these people are the most bogus of bogus refugees that ever set foot on Érie (since patrick, anyway), most certainly you know that Afghanistan today is anything but safe. Its no longer the model UN occupation - and would be looking mor elike Iraq today if only the media would bother to send a few reporters in that direction (info: no USA network currently has a full time reporter in Afghanistan).

Me thinks Mr Jordao needs a swift googling - maybe tomorrow.

more info and quotes from Mr Jordao
http://groups.google.com/group/miscrandometc/browse_thr...3c0da

Live PhoneCam Shot: 'Every Song Is A Cry For Love'

by Ciaron - Dublin catholic Worker Sat May 20, 2006 01:43 Down Under- Heading Back

As the Irish state stands poised to deport Afghanis to a state where religious freedom is denied, where a Christian was recently sentenced to death for his choice of religion, one has to ask where are the rank & file Christians of Dublin? Where do they stand in relation to the Christian tradition & praxis of sanctuary of the church?

The history of sanctuary is a long one. "Sanctuary was more or less formalised practise in ancient Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. Political fugitives, debtors, and slaves on the run all passed beyond the pale of revenge by making into the precints of a recognised shrine (Wes Howard Brooks "Becoming Children of God", Orbis Press, Maryknoll, New York 1994).

In the Christian tradition, sanctuary has its roots in the early pacifist church and its role as intermediary in disputes ("lest innocent blood be shed"), as fugitives were protected, slaves interceded for and debtors sheltered until a bargain could be made with those seeking vengeance or forgiveness given. Rediscovering the sanctuary as sanctuary has often been a "confessinal" and clarifying moment in the history of the church. Its declaration celebrates the soveriegnty of God (of peace, justice, love, life) in history, marking the limit of civil authority.

Although the function, practice and theology of sanctuary is not to be circumscribed by civil acknowledgement in the history of the church, Christian sanctuary has enjoyed various seasons of legal recognigiton.

The period and place where sanctuary was most formalised was England, where for several centuries at any given time there were more than a thousand under protection of the Church's peace.The ecclesiastical turf was carefully set forth, and elaborate procedures for the sanctuary seker obtained.

There have been other occasions, however, when the sanctuary of the Church has been swamped by the State.

In January 1933, the altar od Madeburg Cathedral and many other churches in Germany were smothered in swastika flags. As American bombs rained on Vietnam, Panama, Afghanistan and Iraq, the stars and stripes could be found on altars throughout the U.S.

For the most part, however, the practice of sanctuary has been fraught with risk. This has been the story since the underground railroad in the U.S. which hid escaping slaves to the martyrs of the French village of Le Chambon who secreted Jews in the 1940's to the 1980's sanctuary movement responding to central American refugees fleeing north from U.S. sponsored wars.

On October 28 1991, Sabastio Ranel, an East Timorese student. was seeking sanctuary in the Motael church grounds when he was slain by Indonesian troops. By the time his November 12 funeral procession reached the Santa Cruz cemetery it was transformed by the same troops, into the bloodbath of the Dili massacre. Over 200 East Timorese were butchered that day.

In the late '90's when the Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans tried to deport 1300 East Timorese (including some of the survivors of the Dili Massacre) from Australia to Portugal at the request of the Indonesian military, a handful of us initiated a sanctuary movement. The movement grew to 20,000 Australians signed up to defy the government and offer sanctuary to the East Timorese. The Australian Government backed off and the East Timorese were finally granted legal status to stay in Australia. It was one of the nonviolent initiatives that led to the end of the western backed Indonesian war on East Timor.

It is indeed a "confessional moment" (Bonhoffer) for the Cathedral and Christians in Dublin. As Christians we are scriptuall mandated need to respond to the cry of the Afghani refugees. Refugees who are fleeing a war that we in Ireland and Australia helped to facilitate. A life of faith is always going to be disruptive. If the Holy Family did not reveive sanctuary in Egypt from the client Kings and imperialists of their day, it would have been a pretty short story

by anon Sat May 20, 2006 20:09

So they tried to mediate an offer inside the churhc while their lawyers outside simultaneously to get a court order?

“We had arrived at a set of proposals which were acceptable to the asylum seekers and which we felt offered a fair and equitable way forward for all parties.

“Unfortunately this view was not shared by the Department of Justice.”

Which involved interviews with the RAT on Monday with them and others acting as independent observers?

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breaking/story.asp?j=18331...20014

The are updating statements on their site. http://www.ireland.anglican.org/pressreleases/index.php...p=662

by incensed Sat May 20, 2006 21:09

I've just read the last comment.

What we have here is a situation where the cathedral could have been cleared, and normal service happen tomorrow. the CofI negotiated a settlement acceptable to the men but not to the liking of the state. Do we have a single practising CofI man or woman in the Irish cabinet?

The department of Justice, Mc dowell and Ahern are now obviously the ones to blame.

Why will there be no morning service tomorrow in Saint Patrick's for the first time since Oliver Cromwell?
Not because of the Afghani protesters.
Not because of the Church of Ireland.
Because Ahern "the christian brudder" and Mc Dowell the "jesuit" , "FF & PD" want to "stop copycats".

shame on them!
Not content with driving aslyum seekers madness, and bringinf out racists on the streets they're now attacking the Church of Ireland. Who has the millenial custody of the cathedral?
The Church or the State?
If the men who it is said want to refuse medical treatment, which is one of their human rights, they will die in the church - The church will be defiled by the State because it couldn't accept the Church authorities solution. & bang goes Ireland's Amnesty International rating. Force Feeding is right up there with the worst torture.

last comment
http://indymedia.ie/article/76166&comment_limit=0&conde...50317
RTE news report
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0520/asylum.html

+Eire State stops service in St Pats for first time since Cromwell.:.