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June 15, 2018Under U.S. law, a refugee is a person who is forced to flee his or her home country due to persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted on account of his or her nationality, race, religion, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Worldwide, there are 65.3 million people who have been forced out of their homes. While the majority of forced migrants remain in their home countries, 22 million have been forced to flee and seek refuge in other countries. Over half of these refugees are under the age of 18.
The Catholic Church has for decades taken seriously the plight of these vulnerable refugees and through advocacy, education efforts, and service provision sought to provide increased protections for them. Assisting those in need is a fundamental Christian duty that is derived directly from the life of mercy of Christ, who himself was a migrant and a child of refugees. We are called to welcome our new neighbors with the same love and compassion we would want ourselves to be shown in a time of persecution. Once resettled, refugees contribute to their new communities as friends and neighbors, taxpayers, workers, business owners, doctors, and students.
World Refugee Day falls during the week of June 17-24, 2018, a global week of action for Share the Journey. In September 2017, Pope Francis launched the two-year Share the Journey campaign to raise awareness of the plight of migrants and refugees.
The 2018 World Refugee Day Toolkit offers prayer resources, talking points advocacy suggestions, and community engagement ideas.