Pope urges greater solicitude and closeness for seafarers and fishers

November 23, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday encouraged greater solicitude and closeness of the Catholic Church for seafarers and fishers saying this vulnerable folk remains for long periods without pastoral care. The Pope was speaking to some 400 participants in the 23rd World Congress of the Apostleship of the Sea, in the Vatican. The Nov. 19-23 congress on the theme "New Evangelisation in the Maritime World" was organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. The Catholic Church ministry and service to the world’s seafarers and fishers, irrespective of religious affiliation, is carried out through the Stella Maris centres at ports run by the Apostleship of the Sea. Pope Benedict expressed appreciation for the ecumenical and interreligious collaboration involved in the Apostleship of the Sea. Recalling St. Paul who also undertook many sea voyages, the Pope said, “even today the Church sails the seas to bring the Gospel to all nations.” He told the congress participants that their widespread presence in the seaports of the world, their visits to the vessels in port, and the brotherly welcome to crew members are “the visible sings of the solicitude towards those who cannot receive the normal pastoral care.” Pope Benedict noted that seafarers are sometimes subject to injustice, especially when crew members are forced to land, abandoned in their ships, subject to maritime piracy or suffer the damage of illegal fishing. The vulnerability of seafarers, fishermen and sailors, the Pope said, calls for a greater solicitude of the Church, and through you should stimulate her solicitude and maternal care which she manifests to those that you encounter in ports or ships or whom you help on board in long voyages.