Vatican
City, 12 June 2015 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis received the
participants of the International Seminar of Catholic Civil Aviation
Chaplains and Chaplaincy organized by the Pontifical Council for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples on the theme
“Evangelii gaudium: What Support for the Pastoral Care of Airport
Chaplaincy?”
Airports,
Pope Francis recalled are meeting places for many people who are
travelling for many reasons. They are also points of transit for
migrants and refugees, children and the elderly, who need special
care and attention, as well as those who work there every day. “We
also have to note,” the pontiff emphasized, “the troubling number
of passengers without documents – often refugees and asylum seekers
– who are detained in airport premises for long or short periods,
sometimes without adequate spiritual and human assistance. Sometimes
tragic situations occur due to, for example, accidents or hijacking,
with serious consequences for the safety and the psychological status
of persons. In these circumstances too, Chaplains are called upon and
sought after by those who need comfort and encouragement.
Given
its characteristics, airport chaplaincy is called to be “a place of
unity in diversity for all categories of persons. Airports seem
cities within cities, where multiple realities intertwine and
overlap. As a big city, the airport is a cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic,
and multi-religious environment and you, chaplains and members of the
chaplaincy, you are immersed in the life of this unique community.
Therefore, it is important to work meekly and to be more attuned to
the Holy Spirit who creates unity in diversity.”
The
Holy Father concluded his brief speech inviting the chaplains to work
to ensure that those special “border” positions that airports
constitute have “space for finding and practicing love and
dialogue, which nourishes fraternity between persons and preserves a
peaceful social climate. I pray together with you that the Lord make
your apostolate, which participates in the Church's universal
mission, an effective proclamation of the Good News.
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