So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Ephesians 2:19-21

Introduction
The Catholic Church proclaims that all human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for societies across the world. Pope Francis has consistently reiterated that every man, woman, girl and boy is made in the image of God and is a free person – so must be accorded the same freedom, respect and dignity. In this vision, all are included, no one is left behind.

Human worth and dignity in the Scriptures.
A golden thread that runs throughout the Old and New Testaments argues for the dignity and worth of humanity. It begins in the story of creation. Here the Scriptures tell us that human beings, male and female, were made in God’s image and God declares all that he has made is good: “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…’” Genesis 1:26a. Moving on, Deuteronomy 10:17b-18 presents God as not discriminating between one person’s dignity and welfare and another’s: “… the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.”

We are imprinted with God’s image. Our dignity derives from the persons we are, being lovingly made by God and not from our race, gender or age. In Galatians 3:28 Paul tells us that in Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female.” Morally and spiritually equal before God, we all share the same means of salvation. It follows that neglect, discrimination and abuse of any kind, are a gross violation of God’s loving purpose in creation.

Throughout the Bible there are many stories of alienation and discrimination. From individual injustices and disputes to collective persecution from following God’s call to the Promised Land, and later, in the missionary travels of the early church disciples and apostles. At the heart of the Biblical imperative, God’s Law and its re-statement by the Prophets is consistently on the side of the victim. Whether in Deuteronomy 10:19 “Love the stranger then, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Or in Jeremiah 22:3 where you must “practice honesty and integrity; rescue the man who has been wronged from the hands of the oppressors; do not exploit the stranger, the orphan, the widow; do no violence; shed no innocent blood in this place,” the message is very clear about the basis of right human behaviour.

Jesus sums up this vision of God’s covenant in Mark 12:30-31 as “to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.” However, very often our debates about inclusion and exclusion (both political and spiritual) revolve around numbers and targets rather than people and values. But people are not numbers or targets. From the perspective of the Scriptures there is no justification for discrimination against people. How then, do we justify our treatment of people when we discriminate against them? What kind of a society are we if we do not welcome those whom we meet or help make it possible for people to belong in our neighbourhoods, churches and communities?

A Church in which we belong
As people of faith, we must stand together to resist all forms of prejudice against our fellow brothers and sisters. The mission of our Church, herself a Mother and a pilgrim in the world, is to love Jesus Christ, especially in the poorest and most abandoned; among the ‘outsiders’ desperately trying to belong in very difficult and dangerous conditions. This ministry of welcome is an expression of our communion with each other as a global Church with a global identity. Yet there are also many other people that we sometimes fail to welcome and include, who have lived for as long as we have, in the same churches and communities, going to the same schools and working in the same places. It is all too easy to ignore those who live alongside us who are not part of our social networks or with whom we assume we have nothing in common regardless of a shared faith or postcode.

Diversity is an integral part of our Church identity. The word Catholic itself means universal not uniform. This thinking is revealed in Genesis right from the beginning of creation. In the created order, different beings are created in a sequence that is predetermined by God and each being has an individual and a collective purpose that enables the best way to co-operate and to flourish. This is a model for all our relationships. When we fail to co-operate with, and respect, each other and the wider creation, then we become divided and set against each other. In the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9, we see this division not in God’s dispersal of his people but in their vision of a city divided from its Maker which is only restored at Pentecost, whereby the Holy Spirit unites all people in their diversity of languages in Acts 2: 1-13.

So diversity in the Church is Scriptural and our God expresses this diversity while operating in unity. It is often the wonderful diversity of God’s people that leads us into God’s mystery. We all refract something of the image of our Creator: “for just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5. In the last book of the Bible, diversity is praised in Revelation 7:9-10 – “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb!”

These two images are models of diversity coming together to serve and praise God. Yet this doesn’t happen automatically. Restoration of a broken world is a daily habit. We must identify and actively combat the injustices that underline our divisions. True reconciliation means respecting one another in spite of, as well as because of, our real differences, and promoting this respect above our individual preferences.

Belonging in Jesus
Jesus surrounded himself with people from all walks of life much to the horror of his disciples and the Pharisees, and he had different things to say to each of them. He loved humanity equally, and brought people together despite the dominant cultural, social, economic, and religious divides. He listened to the needs of those around him and then acted to model their transformation as well as ease their burdens. Jesus throughout the Gospels shifts the focus from ‘I,’ to ‘we’, to ‘us’, in all our relationships. He reminds us that the private and the public are not different when it comes to justice and compassion.

The Church isn’t simply a collection of isolated individuals, all following their own spiritual path without reference to one another. While it’s true that each of us is called to respond to God at a personal level, the Church is a body that only thrives when we all work together. The Church exists in the world to continue the reconciling work of Jesus the Saviour. This is the “Good News,” and when it is proclaimed it transforms people and societies – they belong to Christ. God redeems the world through Jesus, and he redeems it through us every time we look at each person with the eyes of Christ and with the heart of God.

What can we do as individuals and as Churches?

1) Pray for guidance in helping people to belong and pray for wisdom to ensure no one feels excluded or is left behind.
2) Welcome people – especially those of a different culture.
3) Set up a Welcoming Rota in your church – even if it can only be run once a month it is worth doing to begin creating a welcoming culture.
4) Talk to people after Mass, especially if you have not met them before.
5) If you see people standing on their own, introduce them to people you know or introduce them to each other.
6) Create a monthly ‘Get to Know Each Other’ space during coffee after Mass or at another appropriate time
7) Develop a friendly, inclusive environment in your church community in which strangers feel genuinely welcome.
8) Work at making your liturgies really inclusive.
9) Be vigilant about listening to those who feel most neglected or excluded. Do all you can to build safe and inclusive spaces, at home, in schools and work places, clubs and local communities;
10) Create a short survey for your parish to find out what they are concerned about, what they would like to see and join in the parish, and who can help you fulfil some of these initiatives.

Fleur Dorrell

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