Roman Catholic leaders warned yesterday that many long-term residents are living in constant fear and anxiety as Government considers their fate.

They said families -- many of them Portuguese -- risk being split up and that they dread losing their jobs as uncertainty over their future continues.

In a letter delivered to parishioners on Sunday, Bishop Robert Kurtz and the Island's eight Catholic priests urged Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox - who is deciding the fate of long-term residents -- to "do what is right'' to protect these families who have contributed so much to Bermuda's prosperity.

And they urged parishioners to contact politicians to make their views known.

It is the first time the Catholic Church has spoken publicly about the current long-term residents' controversy.

The letter states: "We see the human face of the suffering caused by our present legislation regarding long-term residents, especially as it affects some of the families of our Catholic community.

"Our people live in fear of losing their jobs, being separated from their spouses, children and grandchildren.

"In some cases children of the same family risk being separated from each other over the question of Bermuda status. Our people live in a constant state of insecurity.'' The Most Reverend Kurtz, the Bishop of Hamilton, praises the Anglican Bishop Ewen Ratteray for appealing for "more reasonable discussion and much less emotion''.

He pointed out that in the 1960's, Monsignor Filipe Macedo, who was vice-consul of Portugal in Bermuda, urged Government to allow Portuguese labourers to send for their wives and children.

The letter continued: "Having consulted the members of the Diocesan Council and other lay leaders of the Catholic Church in Bermuda, as pastors we believe we are called once again to renew our efforts to preserve and promote the unity of the family, all families, in the light of the debate on long-term residents.

"Many Portuguese, West Indians and others have lived with a vague or implied hope that Bermudian status would eventually be achieved along with full civil rights.

"The present legislative debate will lead to a clarification of this question and this hope.

"We wish to congratulate Ms Cox for her courage and determination to bring this matter concerning long-term residents to a proper conclusion.

"We call upon our legislators to `do what is right' to promote the unity and well-being of all families in Bermuda.

"We also call upon the faithful of our churches to exercise their civic responsibility out of religious conviction and to make their opinions known to their members of Parliament for the good of Bermuda.'' Before the last election in 1998, the Catholic Church called for foreign workers to be given a "maximum stay'' before being allowed into the Island.

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