Sir, - When Christians comment on the so called refugee crisis in Ireland it would be well for them to recall the Biblical account of how Jesus Christ and his parents fled for their lives to Egypt. Perhaps Jesus was thinking of this episode when he taught the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The cutting edge of that parable for his Jewish listeners was that Samaritans were despised foreigners. Yet a Samaritan "outsider" became for Christians the enduring paradigm of human compassion.
At a time when unfounded alarmism and bigotry towards refugees are increasing rapidly, it is also worth recalling that some extremely poor African countries have welcomed hundreds of thousands of refugees in recent years. Such huge movements of population have certainly created immense problems, but they place our current difficulties in their appropriate perspective.
Joan Burton - who has made an outstanding contribution to the welfare of refugees both at home and abroad - was right to say that they must respect our laws. But she has also pointed out the terrible danger of allowing the genie of racism out of its bottle.
Would it not be in order now for our Christian leaders to give a strong public lead against the spreading virus of racism in our country? In degrading often desperate refugees we degrade ourselves a great deal more. - Yours, etc.,
North Circular Road,
Dublin 7.