Sanctuary for Asylum Seekers: Revisiting the Religious Principle and Practice of Refuge in the Church
This article argues for a reconsideration of the tradition of church sanctuary. First, I analyze the reality of Central American asylum seekers who are systematically denied protection in the United States. Second, using the earliest Christian references to sanctuary from the fourth century, I show...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
Published: |
2021
|
In: |
Theological studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 82, Issue: 2, Pages: 285-309 |
Further subjects: | B
Canon Law
B Deportation B Violence B Migration B Ecclesiology B Patristic B Politics B Sacramental B Mercy B Borders |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | This article argues for a reconsideration of the tradition of church sanctuary. First, I analyze the reality of Central American asylum seekers who are systematically denied protection in the United States. Second, using the earliest Christian references to sanctuary from the fourth century, I show that sanctuary was a religious and pastoral response to persecuted persons fleeing violence and death. Third, I trace the process that led to sanctuary’s disappearance from the Code of Canon Law in the late twentieth century, and argue that there is a need to reintroduce sanctuary as a religious principle and practice of the church. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2169-1304 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Theological studies
|
Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/00405639211010846 |