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 Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 105, December 2007

 

 

Vatican Radio Interview with

Archbishop AGOSTINO Marchetto

on the occasion of World Maritime Day* 

 

World Maritime Day is celebrated this year on September 27. With us is Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, which has one of its sectors dedicated to the Apostleship of the Sea.  We have some questions for him. 

Q. Your Excellency, why is this Day celebrated?

The yearly celebration of this Day has become a traditional appointment on the maritime scene. It is intended by the International Maritime Organization to recall the importance of this industry and its contribution to the world economy. The theme chosen this year, IMOÂ’s Response to Current Environmental Challenges, is an appeal addressed to everyone to intensify efforts to protect and preserve the maritime environment before the damage becomes irreparable.

It has not been long since humanity started to understand the fragility of our planet and the serious repercussions that our actions can have. Many countries, however, are still reluctant to ratify the existing Conventions regarding protection of the maritime environment because this would require on their part large financial investments and expertise, which they do not always have.

Respect for the environment, in any case, presupposes the conviction that we are all “GodÂ’s stewards in the Creation”, and this calls for a personal, collective and international commitment.  For the Church, taking care of the Creation is a moral question, as John Paul IIÂ’s Encyclical Centesimus Annus reminds us. 

Q. When we speak about respect for the environment, are we also referring to all those who get their livelihood from the sea?

When speaking about respect for the environment, it is important to reaffirm that man is at the center of the Creation. Such respect has no meaning if it does not start with respect for the person who is always the principal actor in the environmental issue.

Concern for the environment, in fact, cannot fail to consider the needs of an ever greater population that gets its main source of sustenance from fishing. Therefore, it is important to favor balanced policies that will take environmental factors into consideration for a sustainable, and at the same time, a human use of the resources for an equitable living standard of the people involved in fishing activities.

Benedict XVI attests that “the environmental deterioration makes particularly unsustainable the existence of the earthÂ’s poor” (Angelus of August 27, 2006). Because of the love for the poor, we are therefore shocked by crews abandoned in foreign ports, unpaid salaries and abuses, which show the risk, also for the maritime industry, that economic considerations will be put before concern for peopleÂ’s welfare.           

Q. What is the Pontifical CouncilÂ’s view and approach to the challenges of the maritime environment?

Unfortunately, globalization has not improved the living and working conditions in the maritime world. Crews spend more and more time on board; they are isolated, stressed and overworked. This is most obvious in the fishing sector.

Our recent World Congress of the Apostleship of the Sea in Gdynia (Poland) stated, for example, that while it is true that there are millions of responsible fishers who deserve all our respect, we cannot ignore the practice of illegal fishing, the use of destructive methods, especially in Africa, by ships from other continents, and overfishing which, in some regions, even risks making fish resources disappear in the near future. I would also mention the all too frequent accidents at sea that also have dramatic consequences for the communities of the accident victims.           

Q. Concretely, what can we do as average citizens?

If we consider that more than 90% of world trade is carried out by sea, and if we take its contribution to the world economy into account, it is obvious that our society has a significant debt with regard to seafarers whose work requires a lot of courage, experience, sacrifice and professionalism. For a majority of them, however, there is no corresponding recognition of this.

It is our duty, therefore, to show gratitude, even concretely, solidarity and hospitality, to aid them when necessary, and to pray for them and their families.

Those who live in the industrialized countries have to understand, moreover, that the earthÂ’s resources cannot be squandered, and that it is necessary for them to use them parsimoniously and in a way that is consistent with the common good and for the sake of the future generations.

As reaffirmed at the Gdynia Congress, we want to have the courage to introduce a “Christian humanism of hope” into the maritime world, as witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ. 


 

* 21 September 2007.

 

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