The mission of the Church Council on Justice and Corrections (CCJC) is to serve as a shining light for restorative approaches to justice and corrections. CCJC’s work is predicated on the values of justice, healing, love, mercy, forgiveness, peace, compassion, dignity, fairness, trust and non-violence.
Today is
World Refugee Day
. According to The UN Refugee Agency, around the world an average of one person was displaced every two seconds in 2017 as a result of conflict or persecution. The UN refugee agency
reported Tuesday
that nearly 69 million people who have fled war, violence and persecution were forcibly displaced last year, a record for the fifth straight year. Of that total, 16.2 million were newly displaced last year -- an average of more than 44,000 people per day. Most have been displaced for longer than that, some forced to flee multiple times. Among them over half are under the age of 18. There are also 10 million stateless people who are denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment, and freedom of movement.
In what will go down as a moment in history that we are all bearing witness to, immigration continues to be one of the most politically polarizing issues for our neighbours to the south. May we remember the words of spirit-filled leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In a speech in Montgomery, Alabama in 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a simple question: “How long will prejudice blind the vision of men?” telling the gathered marchers that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Now more than 50 years later, his question remains equally relevant. As a group focused on restorative work, the indelible link and commonality between each of us as individuals, community members, as sharers in mutual humanity is as important to remember today as it was those many years ago when Dr. King was on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. It behoves us to recall that the “othering” of people who may seem removed from us has permitted some of the greatest atrocities in history.
We are at a critical moment in time where it is essential for us to keep in mind, as Dr. King so eloquently shared, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” As Christians, we are called to be merciful just as God has shown us mercy. (Luke 6:36) More than this, we are called to strive to support, “the least of these.” Jesus said, “whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
This World Refugee Day, may we foster a spirit of welcoming, of peace, dignity, fairness and trust for those who have lost their homes and who have overcome so many obstacles to find their way to our communities. May we call to heart the version of mercy shared by Pope Francis – mercy in action, mercy as a verb.
"That mercy is dynamic, not so much a noun with a fixed and definite meaning, or a descriptive adjective, but rather a verb – 'to show mercy' and 'to receive mercy' – that spurs us to action in this world. Even more, it is a mercy that is 'ever greater', a mercy that grows and expands, passing from good to better and from less to more. For the model that Jesus sets before us is that of the Father, Who is ever greater and Whose infinite mercy in some sense constantly 'grows'. His mercy has no roof or walls, because it is born of His sovereign freedom."
-
Pope Francis
