Australia involved in controversial migrants policy

The Australian government is under pressure to revise a planned bilateral arrangement, under which 800 irregular immigrants would be turned away from Australia and sent to Malaysian shores, while Australia would resettle 4 thousand registered refugees living in Malaysia. Australia has seen a sharp increase in migrant traffic, much of it from Afghanistan and Iraq, with many of the Iraqi migrants being Chaldean Christians. The director of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee office, Scalabrinian Fr. Maurizio Pettena says that the search for a real solution to the difficult situation must be guided by more than a concern for political expedience. “I firmly believe that, if there is a contribution the Church can make,” to the broader debate, “it is to insist on human dignity,” he said.

Listen to Chris Altieri's interview with Fr. Pettena: