STATEMENT ON THE CONCOURT ASYLUM RULING

by Sheila Pires | Oct 12, 2026 | Featured, Migrants and Refugees Office

A call for justice, the rule of law and respect for asylum seekers   The Office for Migrants, Refugees and Human Trafficking of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) welcomes the Constitutional Court ruling of 7 July 2026 concerning the right...

‘Children have to start again’: Bishop Kizito on the cost of anti-undocumented migrant protests

by Sheila Pires | Oct 7, 2026 | Uncategorized, Featured, Migrants and Refugees Office

Children have been among those most affected by South Africa’s recent anti-undocumented migrant protests, with some forced to leave the country and begin their education and lives again elsewhere, says the Liaison Bishop for the Department for Migrants, Refugees, and...

Dioceses across the SACBC region mark the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees

by Sheila Pires | Oct 6, 2026 | Uncategorized, Featured, Migrants and Refugees Office

Catholic dioceses across the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) region have marked the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, as South Africa continues to experience tensions surrounding undocumented migrants and refugees. In the Archdiocese of...

Vatican official calls for greater local clergy involvement in migrant ministry

by Sheila Pires | Oct 6, 2026 | Uncategorized, Featured, Migrants and Refugees Office

Fr Avelino Chico SJ, Office Head at the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, has called for greater involvement of local clergy in the Catholic Church’s pastoral ministry to migrants and refugees in South Africa. The Angolan Jesuit made the call during...

Stranded between borders and home: Church accompanies undocumented migrants

by Sheila Pires | Jul 15, 2026 | Uncategorized, Featured, Migrants and Refugees Office

Fearing for their safety after weeks of anti-undocumented migrant protests across South Africa, hundreds of undocumented migrants continue to gather outside the Malawian and Zimbabwean consulates, waiting for transport home. Many say they have chosen to return...

Abandoned Refugees Fear for Their Lives as Tensions over Irregular Migration Escalate in South Africa

by Sheila Pires | Jul 1, 2026 | Migrants and Refugees Office

“We are only asking for protection.” Those words, spoken by a 16-year-old refugee who has spent nearly half her life without a home, school or certainty about tomorrow, capture the desperation of dozens of refugees living in an abandoned settlement in...