VATICAN CITY, DEC 14, 2005 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, the second World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Foreign Students opened in Rome. Participating in the event are representatives from bishops' conferences, religious congregations, associations and organizations from 30 countries, and two fraternal delegates, one an Anglican and the other from the World Council of Churches.
The meeting, which concludes on Friday, is being promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. According to a communique, the congress aims to promote "cooperation and coordination among people committed to the pastoral care of foreign students, especially those who encounter difficulties," while bearing in mind the phenomenon of emigration. For this reason, the theme of the meeting is: "Foreign Students and the Instruction 'Erga migrantes caritas Christi'." The Instruction was published by the pontifical council in 2004.
Between 1980 and 2002, reads the communique, the number of foreign students has doubled, reaching a total of two million. Of these, 28% are in the United States, 12% in Great Britain, 11% in Germany, 10% in France, 9% in Australia and 4% in Japan. And these figures do not include students participating in specific programs of the European Union, such as Erasmus, Socrates or Leonardo da Vinci.
Tomorrow afternoon, participants in the congress will meet with Benedict XVI at the conclusion of a Mass offered for the university students of Rome, which will be celebrated in the Vatican Basilica by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome.
CON-SM/FOREIGN STUDENTS/... VIS 20051214 (260)
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