Manuel de Lemos, president of Portugal’s 'misericordia' church charities* did not suggest a figure but said that his members, or ‘misericordias’, can accommodate ‘significant numbers’ of refugees and that this contribution will be "decisive."
The president of the charities said that at the moment he is doing a survey of how many spaces each institution can offer, but stressed that his members will "contribute decisively to welcome the refugees coming to Portugal.”
Answering the prayers of the clutch of government ministers charged with sorting out the logistics of the refugee intake, Manuel de Lemos emphasised that for his members "the financial issue was not a matter of concern" as “we put people ahead of money. We will see how this can be done, the money always sorts itself out."
The net receipts of Portugal's National Lottery and other games of chance fund the misericordia structure which is not renowned for being short of money.
According to an announcement on Wednesday, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker has decided that Portugal will receive 3,074 refugees from the 120,000 currently in camps in Europe.
According to the EC figures available, Portugal will host 400 refugees currently in Italy, more than 1,291 that are in Greece and 1,383 from Hungary, a country which has earned the opprobrium of its EC partners due to its tough stance on refugee numbers.
Portugal's Minister of Internal Affairs, Anabela Rodrigues, claimed that the first refugees can start being received in Portugal in October but with her track record of slack management, indecision and prevarication, even this vague date range may be too ambitious.
Earlier this week Pope Francis asked every parish and religious community in Europe to take in a family of refugees as a concrete sign of hope and God's mercy.
"The Gospel calls us, asks us to be near the least and the abandoned. To give them concrete hope, not just say 'hang in there, have patience!'" said Pope Francis in an appeal to those gathered in St. Peter's Square on September 6th.
Portugal's Catholic church heard the message loud and clear and through the misericordia infrastructure is offering to exceed the Pope's exhortation by offering shelter, food and care to thousands of predominantly Muslim refugees.
In a clear reference to the current conflict in Syria, Pope Francis added "We must never resign ourselves to war, and we cannot remain indifferent before those who suffer because of war and violence.
"Violence also can be building up walls and barriers to block people who are seeking a place of peace. It is violence to turn away people who flee inhumane conditions in their hopes of a better future."
"Believing that peace is always possible is not a sign of naivete, but an expression of one's belief that "nothing is impossible" with God."
That's the Papal message: one that Portugal's often low key Church has taken fully on board and is acting with speed and purpose.
US chips in
The United States government confirmed today that it is to help European countries by taking in thousands of refugees as more are arriving in Europe every day.
President Obama has agreed to take 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, according to the press secretary for the White House, Josh Earnest.
This number reflects a ‘significant increase’ to the total number of refugees that the US had agreed to receive and the government will accept responsibility for meeting the basic needs of all of those received on American soil.
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* The Santa Casa da Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy) is a Portuguese charity founded in Lisbon in 1498 by the Queen Leonor of Portugal. After the Lisbon Santa Casa da Misericóridia, similar organisations were created in many other cities and towns of Portugal.
