On the occasion of World Refugee Day, celebrated on June 20, the Claretian Missionaries publicly endorse the campaign ‘One Shared Humanity’, promoted by a wide network of Christian organisations.

Together with Caritas International, the Jesuit Refugee Service and more than two thousand religious congregations of men and women, the campaign aims to raise awareness and commitment to the situation of people who have been forced to flee their homes and lands because of war, violence, climate change or so-called ‘natural’ disasters. The United Nations estimates that at this moment some 120 million people have been forced to leave their homes; the number has been steadily increasing for twelve years.

We Claretians, who seek to accompany these people on the five continents and are greatly enriched by their lives and example, invite you to join forces to:

– Overcome fear and reject attitudes that sow hatred and destruction.

– Encourage openness, understanding and the creation of bonds between people and peoples.

– Create safe and shared spaces of belonging, where strangers can become friends.

– Promote access for all to opportunities that develop their human potential.

– Encourage participation in the formation of compassionate and just societies.

[From here you could link to the campaign page, or to the manifestos in English, French and Spanish].

The campaign comes just days after the Church released Pope Francis’ messages on the occasion of the upcoming World Days of Migrants and Refugees, to be celebrated at the end of September, and of the Poor, to be held in November. In both, recalling how God continues to walk with his people, he invites us to cultivate ‘the small details of love’: to stop, to spend time with people, to reach out and to share.

There are commitments and tasks where we can never say ‘we are on holiday’.