The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Ivan McKay, has said that "the influx of immigrants of one sort or another is making a huge and positive impact on the character of church life in this island".
He said there were "some 30,000 members in new black majority churches, especially in the Republic. Similarly, recent immigrants now form a significant proportion of the membership of Presbyterian and Methodist congregations, in some cases up to 50 per cent".
He was speaking at the launch in Belfast yesterday of the church's policy document on asylum-seekers and refugees. It was prepared by Dr Gordon Gray, convener of the church's race relations committee.
Dr Gray quoted from the document: "As the world increasingly becomes a global village so the stranger who is different becomes increasingly our neighbour with whom we must co-exist and interact harmoniously. The contemporary tide of displaced men, women and children needs to be addressed at its multifarious roots and by the community of nations in our increasingly interconnected world."
He also pointed out that "the right to seek asylum belongs to every citizen of the world. Asylum-seeking is a right. It is not a concession."
And, while taking a stand against illegal immigration, the church would argue, he said, that a "saving clause" should allow for the fact that asylum-seekers were not required to have the same documentation as other categories of people entering Ireland.
The church supported calls for asylum-seekers' payments to be increased.