The loss of life among displaced persons who have sought asylum, will be the key reflection at a Requiem performance held within the walls of St Mary’s Cathedral next month.
The event, to be held on October 11, will showcase the work of Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, featuring Lux et Veritas (choir) and Camerata 1685 (orchestra), and will be conducted by local musician Jangoo Chapkhana.
Key organiser Anne Stephens said the aim of the event is to raise funds for locally based activities of MercyCare and The Humanitarian Group, (formerly Case for Refugees) –
a legal service that has been fund raising to provide legal assistance to asylum seekers who are having their protection claims processed – in Western Australia.
“It is also a consciousness–raising event to highlight the need to respond with compassion to the needs of those who seek asylum,” Mrs Stephens said.
Mrs Stephens went on to explain that development of the event came about in large part as a natural response to her work as a school psychologist working with refugees and asylum seekers, having been deeply moved by their situations.
“I see organising this concert as a response to the call of Christ through the Gospel as well as my response to the call of Pope Francis for compassion to the asylum seekers of the world,” she said.
“The world is going through a particularly turbulent period with huge numbers of displaced people, many of whom do not have access to refugee camps, and unfortunately asylum seekers have been portrayed in Australia as people attempting to enter Australia illegally, whereas it is in fact legal to seek asylum.
“I am resolved to be part of the movement to redress this situation and to bring about a more just response.
Mrs Stephens went on to say that as a major provider of services to asylum seekers,
MercyCare also has a program of community education to raise awareness around the situation of people seeking asylum in Australia.
Planning of the event comes in the midst of the call from Pope Francis who this week called on all European parishes and religious communities to take in one Refugee family.
Reminding the faithful of the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, he said that offering shelter to the needy is a “concrete act in preparation” for the Holy Year.
As we witness the “tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees who flee death in conflict and hunger and are on a journey of hope,” the Pope said, “the Gospel calls us to be close to the smallest and to those who have been abandoned.”
Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe also echoed the invitation of Pope Francis, saying that we must urgently begin to consider, at the local level, how we can best provide the warm welcome and practical generosity which is needed by those who seek to begin a new life among us.
“In the Archdiocese of Perth, I will be asking our many community-based social outreach organisations to begin making plans to ensure that we are ready to provide assistance on the ground as generously and in as practical a way as possible,” the Archbishop said.
“Much is already being done at the local level by Catholic parishes, religious congregations, Catholic schools and our social welfare agencies to assist migrants, refugees and asylum seekers,” he said.
“As a Catholic community we stand ready to do more – and to respond with the generosity, compassion and practical assistance called for by Pope Francis.
The cost to attend the Requiem is $35 or $25 concession and tickets are available from TicketsWA, or Click Here.
Read the statement from Archbishop Costelloe by Clicking Here.
Read the Homily from Pope Francis by Clicking Here.