Australia's intake of 12,000 Syrian refugees will include people from all affected communities, the federal government says.
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, has expressed concern that the bulk would be Muslims and not from persecuted minorities like Christians, Yazidis, Zoroastrians and Jews.
But Liberal frontbencher Scott Ryan says the government's focus is on those who have no prospect of returning home and "will be from all communities in the region".
"I just don't think it's particularly helpful to come up with proportions or targets," he told Sky News on Saturday.
"The important point is they've been assessed, they will have the capacity to become part of the Australian community and we'll support them to become so."
Archbishop Fisher told The Weekend Australian the community and Oriental Christians were feeling "very anxious" and couldn't get clarity on what the government was trying to achieve.
He said Islamic State wanted to "exterminate or enslave" Christians as part of its belief in the terrorist caliphate.
"Groups like the Yazidis, Christians and Zoroastrians are at peril of extinction in the Middle East at the hands of Daesh," he told the paper.
Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite said Australia's humanitarian intake was non-discriminatory and based on the advice of the UN's refugee agency.
"It may be the case that there will be quite a few Christians who are taken by the Australian government, but that has nothing to do with their religious background - it has everything to do with urgency and need," he told Sky News.
