Churches offering sanctuary to asylum seekers — some context

Posted on February 4, 2016 
Filed under Australia, Resources

Assoc Prof Neil Foster“In a high-profile decision of the High Court of Australia yesterday, Plaintiff M68-2015 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] HCA 1 (3 February 2016), a 6-1 majority ruled that the Australian government is entitled to continue its policy of detaining certain asylum seekers off-shore in the Pacific nation of Nauru. …

Today a number of Christian churches went public with an offer of ‘sanctuary’ for those who are supposed to be returned.”

– What is ‘sanctuary’, and does it still apply in Australia today? Here’s some legal context from Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia.

Related:

“The Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Glenn Davies, says Anglicans and other Christians in Sydney are concerned by the prospect of 91 asylum seeker children being returned to Nauru following the recent High Court ruling…” – SydneyAnglicans.net

Armidale’s Anglican Bishop urges caution on calls to defy the law to safeguard refugees – ABC News 05 February 2016.