Vatican City, 21 January 2014 (VIS) –
“We cannot ignore the pitiful situation in which many fisherman and
their families live. … And we offer a special thought for those
seafarers who are still being held hostage by pirates, and for their
families who await their release”. With these words, Cardinal
Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the Pontifical Council for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, inaugurated the
Annual Meeting of the Co-ordinators of the Apostolate of the Sea,
currently being held in Rome until 24 January. The participants will
attend the Pope's general audience tomorrow, 22 January.
In his address, the cardinal made a
plea to chaplains and those who are responsible for offering
assistance to seafarers to give all possible support to those who are
experiencing the drama of kidnapping at sea, and to show their
families “the loving face of the Church”. He recalled that
Blessed John Paul II had urged the promotion of an ecumenical spirit
in the maritime world, to encourage co-operation and mutual
co-ordination of projects involving the Episcopal Conferences and
local Ordinaries, adapting them to the current scenario. In view of
the phenomenon of the opening of new trade routes and the merging of
companies in order to maximise efficiency and profit, the cardinal
emphasised the need to strengthen solidarity between nations and to
share resources.
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral
Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, to guide the activity of the
Apostolate of the Sea more effectively, has divided the world into
nine regions: North America and the Caribbean, Latin America, Indian
Ocean Africa, Western Africa, Europe, South Asia, South-East Asia,
Arab Gulf States and Djibouti.
Speakers at the meeting include Roberto
Giorgi, president of the company Vships, world leader in the field of
maritime services, in trade, cruises, and the sectors of energy and
defence, who will speak about current trends, developments and the
main problems the maritime sector will face over the next five years.
Msgr. Giacomo Martino, consultor of the dicastery and John Green of
the Apostolate of the Sea in Great Britain will speak about the
current economic crisis and how networking and sharing pastoral
experiences can contribute to facing it. Msgr. Martino will also give
a presentation on the tragic subject of the modern slavery that
affects a growing number of fisherman who are victims of forced
labour on sub-standard ships where their lives are placed at risk, on
human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The lawyer Deirdre
Fitzpatrick, director of Seafarers' Right International (SRI), which
deals with the defence of seamen, will speak about the many
violations of their rights.
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