News & Events
Strangers Into Citizens - 15th May Rally
On 7th May Daughters of Charity and members of the Vincentian Family 
joined the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor at a concelebrated Mass in support of migrants workers at Westminster Cathedral with the heads of the other two London Catholic dioceses, Archbishop Kevin McDonald of Southwark and Bishop Tom McMahon of Brentwood. The cathedral was packed to full capacity.
After Mass the congregation joined other faith groups, trade unions and immigrants on a walk from Westminster Cathedral to Trafalgar Square to take part in a rally in support of the 'Strangers into Citizens' campaign which is calling for a pathway to legal rights for undocumented migrants who have been in the country for more than four years and are here building up the fabric of British society. 
Estimates vary widely as to how many illegal immigrants are living in the UK. The Government says there are up to 570,000, while pressure group Migration Watch puts the figure at up to 870,000. Rally organisers say they support the right to restrict immigration but contend there are more than 300,000 people already in the UK who should be given the legal right to stay. Illegal migrants are being exploited by employers who pay them poverty wages, undercutting British workers and depriving the country of millions of pounds of tax revenue.
Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor told the media he was in "no way" intending to encourage future illegal immigration. But he said many illegal immigrants had already been in the UK for years and their rights should be protected. Many of them are married, settled down and contributing to the fabric of British society yet they live in a kind of "shadow land". "That's not right and it's not fair. Our government and the governments all over the world must treat migrant workers with justice and with dignity."
[Daughters of Charity International Website - http://www.filles-de-la-charite.org/en/news.aspx 4.6.2007]