(Vatican Radio) This week the XVI World Seminar of Catholic Civil Aviation Chaplains and Chaplaincy Members has been taking place in Rome.
The meeting promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People has been looking at the theme: “Evangelii Gaudium: what support for the pastoral care of airport chaplaincy?”
At the ending of their study and reflections Pope Francis on Friday greeted the participants in the Vatican, encouraging them in their work in helping people to open their hearts and lives to Christ in an airport environment.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report
The Pope told those gathered that the airport chaplaincy is called to be a place of unity in diversity for all categories of people.
He noted that, airports seem like cities within cities, “where multiple realities intertwine and overlap.”
As a big city, he said “the airport is cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic and multi-religious, and you, chaplains and chaplaincy members, are immersed in the life of this unique community”.
Unity in diversity
Therefore, Pope Francis added, it is important to work meekly and get more attuned to the Holy Spirit who creates unity in diversity.
The Holy Father described the airport as a meeting place for many people who travel for business, for tourism, and other needs. He also highlighted in particular, transiting migrants and refugees, children and elderly people who, he said, need special care and attention.
The Pope also underlined the importance of the chaplain in times of tragic situations such as accidents or hijackings when they are called on to provide support, comfort and encouragement.
Your mission at the airport, the Pope stressed, requires you to work so that people have the desire to hear the Word of God. Even at airports, he noted, “Christ the Good Shepherd wants to take care of his sheep through the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.”
Pope Francis concluded by encouraging Aviation Chaplains and Chaplaincy Members “to work to ensure that airports are places where there is room for love and dialogue, which promotes solidarity between people and preserves a peaceful social climate.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) This week the XVI World Seminar of Catholic Civil Aviation Chaplains and Chaplaincy Members has been taking place in Rome. The meeting promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People has been looking at the theme: “Evangelii Gaudium: what support for the pastoral care of airport chaplaincy?”…
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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Thursday inaugurated the second Catholic Church to be opened in Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates.
St Paul’s Church is in the Musaffah industrial area. The emirate’s other Catholic Church is Joseph’s Cathedral in Al Mushrif.
The 1200-seat church will have daily services in English, weekly services in Arabic, Malayalam and Tagalog, bimonthly service in Tamil and monthly service in Konkani.
“We thank the rulers for providing an attractive environment where Christians feel accepted and are able to live their own identity and to practice their religious beliefs,” said Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia. “The mission of the Church is to do everything possible to foster the human capital of the Christian faithful and to make them strong in the pursuit of truth and moral behaviour and thus able to better serve the country.”
There are nearly 1 million Catholics in the United Arab Emirates, mostly migrant workers from South and East Asia.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Abu Dhabi – A new Catholic church dedicated to Saint Paul was inaugurated today, Friday, June 12, in Mussaffah, in the presence of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of State. The day before, the initial opening ceremony was also attended by the Minister for Culture Nahyan bin Mubarak, who in his speech stressed that the…
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Abu Dhabi – A new Catholic church dedicated to Saint Paul was inaugurated today, Friday, June 12, in Mussaffah, in the presence of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of State.
The day before, the initial opening ceremony was also attended by the Minister for Culture Nahyan bin Mubarak, who in his speech stressed that the opening of a new church highlights the “religious tolerance” of national leaders, while Cardinal Parolin noticed how the consecration and dedication of a new church also represents “a sign of vitality” of the local church community, and Bishop Paul Hinder, OFM, apostolic Vicar for South Arabia, expressed gratitude “for the stability and the peace that we enjoy in this Country”.
UAE is home to about 900 thousand Catholics: the community is made up of immigrant workers who mostly come from other Asian countries: Philippines and India. The new Catholic church, the second built in the Country – where today Cardinal Parolin celebrated the first Mass, with the rites of consecration and dedication, before thousands of faithful – will offer its pastoral service primarily to the more than 60 thousand Catholics residing in the region that includes the towns of Mussaffah, Mohammed bin Zayed City and Khalifa City. The church will celebrate Masses in English, Arabic, Malayalam and Tagalog.
During Mass – concelebrated also by Bishop Hinder and Camillo Ballin MCCJ Bishop, Apostolic Vicar of North Arabia – Cardinal Parolin also recalled “the good will of past and present rulers, for their generosity in providing the land for the construction of new churches in the Country”. The permission granted by local authorities for the construction of new places of worship – said the Vatican secretary of State – is “a concrete sign of hospitality that the Emirates has now shown towards Christians”, and testifies their commitment in favor of “a society based on coexistence and mutual respect”.
The place of worship was built on land granted by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi, on the orders of local authorities. “The Christians who live in this country – said Cardinal Parolin yesterday, Thursday, June 11 – need opportunities to grow in their faith and witness it. My message to the Christian community is that may they be supported in their desire to grow in faith and to be charitable to others”….