Remember this;
Render unto God the things that are God's and render unto Caesar the
things that are Caesar's.

The Sallys are obeying Caesar's decisions and at the same time
rendering services to the detainees.
Of course they are being paid for their services, but can you suggest
a better organisation to do this work ?

Bazz,

Short answer - nope!

As indicated by Bazz, the Salvation Army(SA) is well-placed to undertake support services for asylum seekers on Nauru. By accepting and doing this work the SA is not necessarily agreeing with the Government's off-shore processing policy and should not be 'tainted' by association, as suggested by Bruce Haigh. In fact, the SA, by working on Nauru and Manus will eventually be in a strong position to influence Govt policy.

This type of help is surely in line with the SA's expertise, experience and their aim to show Christian 'love in action' to people in great need.I think it is Bruce Haigh, instead of the SA, who has lost his 'moral compass'.

Perhaps Bruce, you would care to give me some reason why the Oz government, IE taxpayer should be supplying boat people with internet access.

I would think it would be a better idea to provide it to Oz pensioners & other poor, long before it was provided to any one of foreign origin, regardless of why they have arrived on our boarder with no visa or other paperwork.

Perhaps you spent too much time out of Oz, & your sympathies have become muddled.

This is a thorny issue. There is always a risk that a church or similar group will be tempted to mute its criticism of refugee policy and practice if it is a recipient of government funds, and its participation in the apparatus of detention could be read as tacit support.

On the other hand, a compassionate and critical presence could be a force for good. If I were a detainee, I’d rather the salvos were providing services and support, than not.

On balance, I think the Salvos are probably right to be there, and Bruce's possition seems a bit too ideologically purist to me.

The Salvation Army has already been given preferential treatment in the UK, being awarded a contract to administer a program over the secular body that developed it. They've been caught meddling in politics in NSW. And given the attitude of their Victorian Media Relations Officer, one wonders how what 'pastoral care' they will provide for any asylum seekers who happen to be homosexual: a quick, merciful death, perhaps?

See http://religiousatrocities.wordpress.com/?s=salvation+army for details.

Shame, shame on them, consorting with government, accepting their bribes of tainted money, that's mostly how religion gets corrupted.

Thanks Bruce for letting us know - those salvos will never see another cent from me.

the Salvos are doing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy with their vision of 'muscular Christianity' in their work with the hungry, homeless, addicted and despairing. they also have their setbacks, scandals and disappointments but if it weren't for them, there would be more despair than hope especially around this time of year.

Thank God for the Salvos: support their good works, and thank God they're still here!

usually the church groups are called on by the Government because its workers don't need to be paid nearly as much as diplomats, fat cats and ABC commentators like Bruce and others who are socialist in theory but capitalist at heart.

Does the Salvation Army ever have their audited accounts books published, as they would make interesting reading, as to how much money they receive goes to their "Welfare" work.

Kipp, Same could apply to other charities who apply for aid.

There was one I considered supporting, but asked for an audited account of how donations were allocated before sending any money.
I received an e-mail stating there would be no reply to my request either now or in the future.