Churches united on offer of sanctuary for asylum-seekers

More than 100 churches and two orders of Catholic nuns are preparing to invoke the doctrine of ‘sanctuary’ for asylum-seekers.

Captain Erin Mains from the Richmond Salvation Army in Melbourne. Picture: David Geraghty

More than 100 churches across Australia and two orders of Catholic nuns are preparing to invoke the ancient Christian doctrine of “sanctuary’’ in defiance of a federal­ government attempt to deport 267 asylum-seekers at the centre of a High Court case over offshore detention.

The churches — mostly Uniting, Anglican and Salvation Army, as well as Baptist, Lutheran and Quakers — have received “very high-quality legal advice from senior counsel” to bolster plans to shield asylum-seekers on archaic religious grounds, according­ to the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce.

The granting of sanctuary, a strong and pivotal act of civil disobedience, derives from the ancien­t power of the church to offer protection to the vulnerable from authorities.

Misha Coleman, the executive officer of the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce, said: “It is true that the notion is yet to be tested in Australia, but we have had some legal advice that suggests that since it still exists for cathedr­als in English common law that it may be part of our common law. ”

She added that there was strong Canadian precedent and that the notion — recognised by English law from the fourth to the 17th centuries to provide immunity to arrest — had been examined in international journals.

“While we’ve launched this as a new thing, there are in fact many examples that have been done very quietly in the Australian context in the past,’’ said Ms Coleman.

“The sisters of St Joseph­ prevent­ed the deportation of East Timorese in the mid-1990s.”

The Churches’ Sanctuary Movement signed up 10 high-ranking churches in the wake of last month’s High Court decision — a month later, 115 churches are part of the movement.

The Sisters of St Joseph at Mary McKillop Place in North Sydney and the Brigidine Sisters order of nuns are also involved.

The 34 churches involved in NSW include Sydney’s Pitt Street Uniting Church, Gosford Anglican Church and the Wayside Chapel in NSW. St John’s in Brisbane, as revealed last month in The Australian, was one of the 15 in Queensland taking part.

The 13 in Western Australia include Perth’s Wesley Uniting Church, alongside the Pilgrim Uniting Church in Adelaide, St David’s Anglican Cathedral in Hobart and Darwin’s Christchurch Anglican Cathedral.

Captain Erin Mains, from Richmond Salvation Army, one of 35 Victorian churches prepared to offer sanctuary, said she was ready for a 2am phone call should Immigration officials embark on a middle-of-the-night raid on her community. “That’s why we’re here, to stand as one for the injustices in the world,” Captain Mains told The Weekend Australian. “My morals say that I must stand up for those in need, for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

“Our community doesn’t want people being sent back offshore, w don’t feel that that’s what the Australian community wants to happen.”

About 100 asylum-seekers in community detention were involved in the High Court decision which, by a six-one majority, ­affirmed offshore processing on the basis of legislation rushed through parliament last June. The rest of the 267 asylum-seekers covered in the judgment are in immigration detention centres.