“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34)

Pope Francis began his message on the 104th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2018 with this passage from Leviticus – reminding all Christians that our primary duty towards migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers is to welcome. For as Pope Francis says: “Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity to encounter Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age (Matthew 25:35-43).” He says to welcome “means, above all, offering broader options … to enter destination countries safely and legally”.

But more than welcome, Pope Francis calls us also to protect, promote and integrate migrants and refugees. To protect “may be understood as a series of steps intended to defend the rights and dignity of migrants and refugees, independent of their legal status.” Meanwhile “promoting essentially means a determined effort to ensure that all migrants and refugees – as well as the communities which welcome them – are empowered to achieve their potential as human beings, in all the dimensions which constitute the humanity intended by the Creator.” The final verb, to ‘integrate’, is not meant as “an assimilation that leads migrants to suppress or to forget their own cultural identity.” Rather, it “means being open to [the other] in order to welcome their valid aspects and thus contribute to knowing each one better.” For Pope Francis, this entails a lengthy process but a worthy one with the aim of shaping “societies and cultures, making them more and more a reflection of the multi-faceted gifts of God to human beings.”

Pope Francis’ commitment to migrants and refugees is high on his priority list. As such since the creation of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in August 2016, in which a section is dedicated to matters regarding refugees and migrants, he has taken it upon himself to directly oversee this area (ad tempus) in any manner he deems appropriate.

On Saturday 18 August 2018, the Office for Evangelisation in the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay sought to bring this message of welcoming, promoting, protecting, and integrating migrants and refugees to light by hosting an inaugural “Celebrating Disciples of All Nations” event at the Light of Christ Centre, Waitara, with the support of Hornsby Cathedral. The day was varied and featured three separate parts: a lunch with entertainment; an education awareness event with an address by Most Rev Vincent Long Van Nguyen, Bishop of Parramatta, and presentations by Sr Jan Barnett from the Josephite Sisters and Mr Phil Glendenning from the Refugee Council of Australia and Edmund Rice Centre; concluding with a multicultural Mass with contributions via singing and participation from various cultural communities.

There was much joy, good will, and generosity at the opening lunch amongst attendees, volunteers and contributors alike: entertainers and singers had been practicing their performances weeks prior to the event while cooks had been busy shopping and cooking days ahead. Preparations for this day began in November 2017 with community representatives and their communities.

Everyone who was willing to contribute to the event gave so willingly and generously with recognition that it was important to celebrate diversity, to encourage respect and gratitude for different cultures, and to affirm the embracing of one’s own country and culture of origin.

The address by Bishop Long, himself a refugee, highlighted that it is above all safety that refugees seek while the contribution that refugees make to their host countries, even those who are most traumatised and impoverished, are immeasurably positive. Australia itself is built upon the gifts and work of refugees and migrants. Yet, we are challenged by Government policies which exclude and vilify refugees who arrive by boat seeking to make their home in Australia.

Mr Glendenning noted that in ordinary circumstances, if a person were to beat up another, an offender would be charged, incarcerated, but is usually assured of release the next day or so. Meanwhile innocent people, including children, seeking safety, are imprisoned for an indefinite amount of time, leading to lifelong trauma. In order to move us beyond feelings of helplessness or apathy Sr Jan encouraged participants to take action either by writing letters to our local federal members and/or joining campaigns that are fighting for the rights of refugees. She pointed out that our faith must lead us to action otherwise it is an empty, comfortable, and inward-looking faith. On my own part, I highlighted that we needed to recognise and engage as well the migrants within our parishes. Are these individuals and communities closest to us also being welcomed, promoted, protected, and integrated?

The final event of the day was the Multicultural Mass concelebrated by Bishop Long and our Diocesan Administrator, Very Rev Dr David Ranson. The Tongan, Filipino, Chinese, and Vietnamese choirs combined under the direction of Mrs Patricia Smith, accompanied by Mr Tim Hildebrandt. The Mass included readings, prayers, and songs in different languages. Apart from these important touches to the Mass, other highlights were the welcome provided in national costume, Fr Ranson’s formal address for the first time as Diocesan Administrator, and when the Tongan community brought the gifts forward and placed a lei on both Bishop Long and Fr Ranson as a show of welcome toward them. Another highlight was the various anecdotes and messages from Bishop Long including his joy at crossing the border to celebrate with the people of Broken Bay, his reiteration of Pope Francis’ message to be an inclusive and welcoming Church. The Mass ended with a moment reminiscent of Pentecost itself when all were invited to sing the first verse of ‘Amazing Grace’, each in their own language.

In total there were eight different communities represented on the day - the Vietnamese, Indians, Tongans, Filipinos, Italians, Polish, Chinese, and Koreans. All of them expressed gratitude and hoped next year’s celebrations will be bigger and better! It is hoped that other cultural communities in our Diocese will be able to come onboard for our celebrations next year. We raised $640 in total for the Jesuit Refugee Services, through gold coin donations. I thank all the community representatives Ms Teimumu Akaveka, Mr Bob and Ms Cynthia Alipalo, Mr Donald Kim, Mr Phuoc Vo, Mr Tien Dang, Ms Catherine Wong, Ms Lucy Leung, Mr John Calabrese, Mr Antoni Davis, and Ms Monica Pazniewski for their dedication and partnership. Thank you to the many other helpers for assisting with event organisation and on the day itself in a variety of ways. The final thank you goes to our former Bishop, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, now Archbishop of Melbourne, who shared his initial vision for holding this day of celebration.