Madrid, Spain, Feb 2, 2007 / 09:15 am
The president of the Conference of Religious in Spain, Brother Alejandro Fernandez Barrajon, announced yesterday that the Spanish government has requested the Church’s assistance in helping 900 underage immigrants who have come to the Canary Islands. Brother Fernandez, said no agreement had yet been reached as to what the Church’s cooperation will look like.
During a press conference, Brother Fernandez said talks are currently taking place and that in order to reach an agreement, there must be “some minimum guarantees of follow-up for these minors, a guarantee that their rights are going to be respected—which is frequently not the case now—and that their legalization is ensured.” Without those guarantees, he added, “we will not be able to provide assistance” because “we are witnessing difficult situations related to the human rights of minors.”
Brother Fernandez explained that his organization, as well as Caritas Spain and the Bishops’ Conference “have wanted to respond to this petition in a positive way,” and therefore, he said, “we are in a process of dialogue.” He said that 250 of the 500 immigrants are in need of urgent care.
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