Source: Crux
Despite objections by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis has decided to help resettle a Syrian refugee family. The family — parents and two children — arrived in Indianapolis Monday night, where the local Catholic Charities agency will assist them.
Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin met with Pence for about an hour at the Indiana statehouse last week to discuss the governor’s concerns, which centered on what he said was the Obama administration’s failure to adequately explain its vetting process for Syrian refugees.
Pence has said he is not sure that Syrian refugees are adequately vetted by the federal government, a two-year process during which the refugees must provide detailed biographical information and undergo retina scans and fingerprinting that are compared to federal and international databases, are interviewed multiple times, are screened by four government security agencies, must provide proof that they cannot return to their home in Syria, undergo medical screening, and take cultural orientation classes, among other procedures.
At that meeting, Pence asked Tobin to turn away the family. But Tobin rejected the request.
“I thank Governor Pence for meeting with me last Wednesday, when I was able to explain in some detail the plight of this family as well as the role of the Archdiocese’s Refugee and Immigrant Services program in welcoming them to Indianapolis, where the family already has some relatives,” Tobin said in a statement released Tuesday.
Tobin said he “listened to the governor’s concerns regarding security” and “prayerfully considered his request” not to resettle the family in Indiana, but ultimately moved forward. The archdiocese consulted with other US Catholic officials before making its decision.
Categories: Christianity, refugees, The Muslim Times, United States