ECUMENISM
A joint communiqué rejecting the new Swiss law on asylum has been issued in recent days by the Federation of the Protestant Churches (Feps), the Catholic Bishops (Ces) and the Federation of the Jewish Communities (Fsci) in Switzerland. Opposition to the law, which will be submitted to the popular vote on 24 September, is motivated by the fact that it “places obstacles in the way of the access of persecuted persons to the asylum procedure instead of guaranteeing them protection and social assistance”. In particular the signatories of the communiqué lament the fact that the new law denies social assistance to those whose asylum application has been rejected, that it creates inequalities in treatment of the most serious cases and that its application would contravene respect for human dignity. Protestants, Catholics and Jews say they are favourable to a policy of human acceptance that offers protection to those who are persecuted and access to social protection to all those who apply for asylum. Their requests have been forwarded to Parliament, which has felt it can only accept that relating to aid in the case of emergency. This is a decision that Feps, Ces and Fsci consider in conflict with the humanitarian tradition of Switzerland. In their joint communiqué the three organizations thank all the individuals, associations, parishes and movements that play a laudable role in helping asylum seekers to improve their living conditions.
