The Catholic Church yesterday censured British politicians for demonising refugees and asylum-seekers with "deplorable" comments it said were putting community relations in peril.
Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue, refugee policy spokesman for the church in England and Wales, urged Britain's political parties to debate the issue properly.
Bishop O'Donoghue told BBC Radio: "Politicians are constantly using (strong) words and I think that's deplorable. Bogus, flood and influx - these incite fear."
Britain, which has seen a surge in asylum-seekers in the wake of the Kosovo conflict, is shaking up its policies on the issue following a spate of detentions of asylum-seekers from central Europe for begging and public disorder.
"The message is quite clear. We've got to temper and bring sanity and compassion to this debate," Dr O'Donoghue said. "We don't want all refugees and asylum-seekers labelled because of the sins of a few.
"We'll be reminding people of the giftedness of these people and what they have contributed to the spiritual and social and economic wellbeing of this country," he added, saying politicians must distinguish between refugees and economic migrants.
The Tories want asylum-seekers locked up until their applications are processed.