Does a mother who fled the war in Ukraine with her two children have to vacate the apartment where they found shelter because a clergyman can’t be expected to stay in a hotel? Apparently, according to Neuried’s pastor, yes. To their great joy, the family found the two-room apartment in the rectory in April. But in two weeks she has to leave her place of residence because a substitute pastor from India is to move in. The church turned down the offer from the Neuried congregation to offer him free board and lodging in a hotel during his tenure. Members of the Neuried refugee aid speak of a major human scandal. To make matters worse, the mother’s seven-year-old son has leukemia and needs medical treatment.
The volunteers are particularly appalled by the statement made by Pastor Wieslaw Poradzisz. The priest had expressed the urgent wish that the Indian pastor should move into this apartment because a hotel room could not be expected of him and he would only be able to look after the parish by living in the vicarage, reports a refugee helper who does not want to be named . The two-room apartment is particularly important for the family because of the sick child.
“In addition, the question arises as to why the Indian pastor cannot move into the Neuried pastor’s apartment in his absence,” said the family’s caregivers. “After all, people all over Neuried have moved into their apartments and houses and made room for the refugees. Can’t we expect the same from the church?” The Archbishop’s Ordinariate was unable to give an answer on Thursday. “We are examining the facts, which we only learned about through your request,” said a spokeswoman for the Archbishop’s Office in Munich when asked by the SZ. “In general, the Archdiocese is trying very hard to provide housing for people who have fled Ukraine. In this sense, we would be very pleased if a solution were found on site in the interests of the families concerned.”
They’ll have to move out soon anyway, says the pastor
Of course, the refugee family, the group of helpers and the community would also welcome this, as it is known that there is currently no free living space in Neuried. In addition, there is the special situation of the family, says Susanne Stummer, head of the Neuried town hall. The community is trying, as for all other 130 refugees, to find a solution and accommodation. In this case, finding accommodation is difficult and time-consuming because the sick child has special needs. A community of needs, i.e. shared accommodation for several families, is not suitable; because the child regularly gets fusions, it needs a relaxed living situation.
The head of the main office appreciates that in April the church offered to stay in the parish apartment free of charge, but without a rental contract, for the time until the replacement pastor arrived. “We thought that was good,” says Stummer. The congregation tried to keep the apartment for the Ukrainian family and offered the church to cover the hotel costs for the replacement pastor, also signing a rental agreement with them; but that was rejected. “The family has to go out on July 22,” she received from the church a week ago, according to the head of office. Since then she has been on the phone every day to find a replacement apartment.
While the refugee helpers fear that the mother does not yet know anything about her fate, the head of the main office assumes that she is in the picture. She asked the pastor if a new refrigerator could be put in the apartment. Then he said: “No, you have to move out soon anyway.” Pastor Wieslaw Poradzisz could not be reached on Thursday.