Pope: Message to mark VII World Congress on Pastoral Care of Tourism
Pope Benedict XVI has sent a Message to the participants in the VII World Congress
on the Pastoral Care of Tourism,which is taking place in Cancún, Mexico, from the
23rd to the 27th of April. Listen to our report:
In the Message,
the Holy Father places the pastoral care of tourists in the key of the New Evangelization,
saying, "The new evangelization, to which all are called, requires us to keep in mind
and to make good use of the many occasions that tourism offers us to put forward Christ
as the supreme response to modern man’s fundamental questions." The Holy Father goes
on to encourage participants, "to ensure that pastoral activity in the field of tourism
is integrated, as it ought in all justice, as part of the organic, ordinary pastoral
activity of the Church." Please find the full text, below.
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To
my Venerable Brothers His Eminence Cardinal Antonio Maria Vegliò, President
of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant
People, and the Most Reverend Pedro Pablo Elizondo Cárdenas, Prelate-Bishop
of Cancún-Chetumal
On the occasion of the VII World Congress on the Pastoral
Care of Tourism which will take place in Cancún (Mexico) from 23 to 27 April, I am
pleased to send you my cordial greeting which I extend to my Brother Bishops and to
all those taking part in this important meeting. As you begin these days of reflection
on the pastoral attention which the Church dedicates to the area of tourism, I wish
to convey my spiritual closeness to the participants and my respectful greetings to
the civil authorities and to the representatives of the international organizations
that are also present at this event. Tourism is certainly a phenomenon characteristic
of our times, due both to the important dimensions that it has already achieved and
in view of its potential for future growth. Like other human realities, it is called
to be enlightened and transformed by the Word of God. For this reason, moved by pastoral
solicitude and in view of the important influence tourism has on the human person,
the Church has accompanied it from its first beginnings, encouraging its potential
while at the same time pointing out, and striving to correct, its risks and deviations. Tourism,
together with vacations and free time, is a privileged occasion for physical and spiritual
renewal; it facilitates the coming together of people from different cultural backgrounds
and offers the opportunity of drawing close to nature and hence opening the way to
listening and contemplation, tolerance and peace, dialogue and harmony in the midst
of diversity. Travelling reflects our being as homo viator; at the same time
it evokes that other deeper and more meaningful journey that we are called to follow
and which leads to our encounter with God. Travelling, which offers us the possibility
of admiring the beauty of peoples, cultures and nature, can lead to God and be the
occasion of an experience of faith, “for from the greatness and beauty of created
things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator” (Wis 13:5). On the other
hand tourism, like every human reality, is not exempt from dangers or negative dimensions.
We refer to evils that must be dealt with urgently since they trample upon the rights
of millions of men and women, especially among the poor, minors and handicapped.
Sexual tourism is one of the most abject of these deviations that devastate morally,
psychologically and physically the life of so many persons and families, and sometimes
whole communities. The trafficking of human beings for sexual exploitation or organ
harvesting as well as the exploitation of minors, abandoned into the hands of individuals
without scruples and undergoing abuse and torture, sadly happen often in the context
of tourism. This should bring all who are engaged for pastoral reasons or who work
in the field of tourism, and the whole international community, to increase their
vigilance and to foresee and oppose such aberrations. In the Encyclical Letter
Caritas in Veritate, I chose to situate the reality of international tourism in the
context of integral human development. “We need, therefore, to develop a different
type of tourism that has the ability to promote genuine mutual understanding, without
taking away from the element of rest and healthy recreation” (no. 61). May your Congress,
meeting precisely under the banner A tourism that makes a difference, contribute to
the development of a pastoral approach that will lead steadily to that “different
type of tourism”. I would like to highlight three areas which should receive full
attention from the pastoral care of tourism. Firstly, we need shed light on this
reality using the social teaching of the Church and promote a culture of ethical and
responsible tourism, in such a way that it will respect the dignity of persons and
of peoples, be open to all, be just, sustainable and ecological. The enjoyment of
free time and regular vacations are an opportunity as well as a right. The Church,
within its own sphere of competence, is committed to continue offering its cooperation,
so that this right will become a reality for all people, especially for less fortunate
communities. Secondly, our pastoral action should never loose sight of the via
pulchritudinis, “the way of beauty”. Many of the manifestations of the historical
and cultural religious patrimony are “authentic ways to God, Supreme Beauty; indeed
they help us to grow in our relationship with him, in prayer. These are works that
arise from faith and express faith” (General Audience, 31 August 2011). It is important
to welcome tourists and offer them well-organized visits, with due respect for sacred
places and the liturgical action, for which many of these works came into being and
which continues to be their main purpose. Thirdly, pastoral activity in the area
of tourism should care for Christians as they enjoy their vacations and free time
in such a way that these will contribute to their human and spiritual growth. Truly
this is “an appropriate moment to let the body relax and to nourish the spirit with
more time for prayer and meditation, in order to grow in personal relationship with
Christ and become ever more conformed to his teachings” (Angelus, 15 July 2007). The
new evangelization, to which all are called, requires us to keep in mind and to make
good use of the many occasions that tourism offers us to put forward Christ as the
supreme response to modern man’s fundamental questions. I therefore encourage
you to ensure that pastoral activity in the field of tourism is integrated, as it
ought in all justice, as part of the organic, ordinary pastoral activity of the Church.
In this way, by the coordination of projects and efforts, we will respond in greater
fidelity to the Lord’s missionary mandate. With these sentiments, I entrust the
fruits of this Congress to the powerful intercession of the Mary Most Holy under the
title of Our Lady of Guadalupe and, as a pledge of abundant divine favours, I cordially
impart to all present the requested Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, April
18th 2012 BENEDICTUS PP. XVI