Church celebrates Sea Sunday: Message of Cardinal
Turkson
Cargo ships passing through the Panama Canal. Each year on the second Sunday of July, the Church celebrates Sea Sunday.- AP |
(Vatican Radio) On Sea Sunday – celebrated
this year on 9 July – the Catholic Church, along with other churches and
ecclesial communities, remembers seafarers; and prays for them, their families
and those who support them. Sea Sunday is sponsored by the Apostleship of the Sea,
formerly under the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and
Itinerant People. The Pontifical Council was merged with several other Vatican
bodies earlier this year to form the Dicastery for Promoting Integral
Human Development.
The Prefect of the news Dicastery, Cardinal Peter K.
A. Turkson, has published a Message for this year’s Sea Sunday. In his
message, the Cardinal says, “On Sea Sunday, we are invited to recognise and
express our gratitude” to the more than one and a half million seafarers around
the world “who, with their hard work and sacrifices are making our lives more
comfortable” by transporting more than ninety percent of the world’s goods
across the open seas.
But, Cardinal Turkson says, although their contribution is
“essential to the global world economy,” seafarers face many challenges,
including difficulties in being away from their families, isolation and
loneliness on board their ships; restrictions in going ashore due to security
concerns. He noted that the threat of terrorism has led some places even to
refuse pastoral workers access to vessels in port. In addition, many seafarers
face exploitation and abuse, despite international regulations. In his letter,
the Prefect addresses each of these problems, with the hope of providing even
better pastoral care for seafarers.
Cardinal Turkson closes his letter with words of concern for
fishers who, like other seafarers, often spend long periods of time at sea. He
acknowledges that fishing is one of the most dangerous professions in the
world; and at the same time, draws attention to problems of human trafficking
and forced labour, as well as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU)
fishing. Fishing and fisheries, the Cardinal notes, will be the focus of the
upcoming XXIV World Congress, which is being held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in
October.
A prayer for seafarers, from the Apostleship of the Sea:
Lord, ruler of waves and sea, keep Your blessed hand over
all seafarers. Give them the strength to lead a Christian life on board their
ships. Keep their families at home in Your care. Help all seafarers keep on the
right course and reach the safe port of heaven. Amen.
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