Sea Sunday: Mariners not invisible to the eyes of God
On the occasion of Sea Sunday, which this year will be celebrated around the world
on July 8, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant
People has published the Message for the Day of the Sea. The
message notes that “seafarers and their families are not invisible to the eyes of
God and the Church. For over ninety years the Apostolate of the Sea has recognised
their hard work, their difficulties and their sufferings through pastoral care offered
by its chaplains and volunteers. On the annual Sea Sunday, we hope that our Christian
communities and society in general will, first of all, recognise the people of the
sea as human beings who contribute to making our lives more comfortable, and then
give thanks for the work and sacrifices.”
Below please find the full
text of the Message for Sea Sunday 2012 from the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral
Care of Migrants and Itinerant People:
Message for Sea Sunday 2012 8
July 2012
Before globalization the maritime industry played an important
role in shipping consumables, raw material and finished products around the globe
and also in transporting a great number of migrants. Even more today when 90% of global
trade is moved by sea together with millions of passengers travelling for pleasure
on board cruise ships.New ports built far away from city centres, fast turnaround
of vessels and limited time to come ashore often make seafarers invisible to society,
unless a pirates’ attack or a shipwreck happens and they are in the news for a short
time. However, seafarers and their families are not invisible to God and to the
Church. Their hard work, difficulties and sufferings have been recognized for more
than ninety years through the pastoral care offered by the chaplains and volunteers
of the Apostleship of the Sea. We see seafarers as a professionally qualified workforce,
capable of performing their job often in very dangerous situations including pirate
attacks and unpredictable severe weather. We see seafarers working in substandard
conditions on board old and rusted vessels, victims of criminalization, abandoned
and often with their salary not paid on time or not paid at all. We see seafarers
docking in foreign lands in need of a welcoming smile, a word of consolation and support,
transport into town, a place to relax without suffering discrimination for their nationality,
colour or beliefs. We see seafarers as family members, forced to live far away
from loved ones and friends for many months at a time, sharing the limited space of
the vessel with other crew members of different nationalities. We see seafarers
as individuals who show in simple ways their deep trust in God, seeking guidance and
strength by attending mass and prayer services or praying privately. Through Sea
Sunday each year, we want our Christian communities and society at large first of
all to recognize seafarers as human beings who contribute to make our life more comfortable
and to give thanks for their work and sacrifices. We also hope to publicise that
they need protection from abuse and exploitation. For this reason we renew our appeal
that the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) be ratified as soon as possible
to guarantee full protection and decent working conditions for the more than 1.2 million
seafarers around the world. The Apostleship of the Sea is known worldwide as Stella
Maris, the Star of the Sea. We pray to Our Lady, Star of the Sea, to protect
the people of the sea and guide them to secure havens. Antonio Maria
Card. Vegliò Presidente
X Joseph Kalathiparambil
Segretario