Pope Francis puts up Syrian refugee family

[rug]

Friday 18 September 2015 13.48

Pope Francis is putting up a Syrian refugee family from Damascus in a Vatican apartment, aides said today.

The Christian family is the first of two that the Catholic leader has promised to find space for as part of a broader Church effort to help shape Europe's response to an ongoing migration crisis partly caused by the conflict in Syria.

The family arrived in Italy on 6 September, the day the pope called on every Catholic parish across Europe to find space for at least one family of refugees.

The family being housed in the Vatican is to remain anonymous until Italian authorities have ruled on their asylum request.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0918/728708-pope-francis-puts-up-syrian-refugee-family/