Strangers Into Citizens - Endorsement By The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales

Endorsement By The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales

In March 2007, Vincent Nichols, the then Archbishop of Birmingham, added his support for the campaign proposals at a Birmingham Citizens assembly.

In April 2008, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales issued a major policy document, "Mission of the Church to migrants in England and Wales", which included a call for regularisation, without specifying conditions. Noting that "many migrants have been here for several years; some have even set down roots and started families", the bishops said:

"Without condoning illegal immigration, the Church’s position on this, as in other fields of human endeavour, does not allow economic, social and political calculations to prevail over the person, but on the contrary, for the dignity of the human person to be put above everything else, and the rest to be conditioned by it. The Church will continue to advocate compassion to allow the ‘undocumented’ an opportunity to acquire proper status, so that they can continue to contribute to the common good without the constant fear of discovery and removal."

Speaking at the third Mass for Migrant Workers at Westminster Cathedral in London, on 5 May 2008, the Bishop of Brentwood, Thomas McMahon, pledged support for Strangers into Citizens and described as "shameful" and "unjust" the Government's failure to regularise the position of thousands of long-term illegal immigrants in Britain.

The bishop called on Catholics to remain "resolute" and "steadfast" in backing the campaign proposal.

"For any Government to choose to do nothing about regularisation is irresponsible and leaves countless migrants vulnerable to exploitation and living in fear and in limbo," Bishop McMahon told the congregation. "They cannot work, they cannot claim benefit, they cannot get public housing. I can only describe it as shameful and unjust."

The bishop added that there would be another rally in Trafalgar Square on May Bank Holiday in 2009 “to demonstrate to the Government that this issue has not gone away”.