Pope's 'refugee speech' provides us with a choice: Polish PM
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
31.07.2016 11:29
Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło has said that a speech by Pope Francis to accept refugees provides the country's government with a choice as to which path to choose on the issue.
Pope Francis (L) and Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (R) speak to children during a visit to the University Children's Hospital in Prokocim, on the sideline of the World Youth Day in Krakow. Photo: EPA/PRESS OFFICE/ OSSERVATORE ROMANO
“If the Holy Father says: Accept refugees, it gives us an opportunity to choose the path that this party will take. Poland can offer help in this matter and at the same time provide [refugee status] to Ukrainian citizens,” Prime Minister Szydło said.
“When Pope Francis says that refugees must be helped, [...] those who criticise Poland for not accepting asylum seekers probably say: 'Pope Francis arrived and gave Poland a lesson'.
“But there are those who know that there are many Ukrainian citizens living in Poland at the moment who have found shelter here, and we send humanitarian aid to the Middle East. These people will say that the Pope teaches us to keep on providing such assistance and charity. What is important to us is that such speeches provide us with a number of options,” Szydło said.
Poland has not accepted refugees as part of a European Union programme to resettle hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers currently residing in camps in Italy and Greece.
In May, the head of the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jarosław Kaczyński, said that Poland will not accept refugees because they pose a threat to the country’s security.
Kaczyński added that Poland would oppose European Commission proposals that would see EU member states having to pay EUR 250,000 per refugee if they refuse to accept their share of asylum-seekers. (rg)