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Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People People on the Move N° 106, April 2008 Message on the Occasion of the Annual Meeting of the United States Catholic Conference of Civil Aviation Chaplains Vatican City, 11 April 2008 Dear US Catholic Airport Chaplains and Chaplaincy Members, It is with great pleasure that the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People cordially greets you on the occasion of your Annual Meeting this year, which will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico from April 14th to 18th. You will be discussing various aspects of your mission and how to carry them out more effectively. We encourage you in this endeavor to be well-prepared and more competent, without of course forgetting that ÂÂthe Pastoral Care of Civil Aviation is an aspect of the ChurchÂÂs responsibility toward her faithful and a participation in her universal mission to proclaim the Good News to all people, in the specific context of the world of Civil AviationÂÂ (Catholic Civil Aviation Pastoral Directives, 4). Airport ministry therefore is a mission of evangelization, at the airport. Moreover, since people today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, ÂÂthe witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of missionÂÂ that is, ÂÂthe very life of the missionary, of the Christian family, and of the ecclesial community, which reveals a new way of livingÂÂ (Redemptoris Missio, 42). The 9/11 tragedy, which involved your countryÂÂs airports, has marked history and greatly influenced the course of events. Seven years from that tragic episode, we would like to send you a message of hope, in consonance with Pope Benedict XVIÂÂs latest encyclical, Spe Salvi. In it he affirmed: ÂÂIt is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in ÂÂ
the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope forÂÂ (no. 35). Hope is also the theme that the Holy Father has chosen for his coming apostolic journey to your country. ___________________ Rev. Michael Zaniolo NCCAC President USA Hope is the anchor that keeps us secure in the midst of the storms that rage in life, even in the wake of horrifying events like those of 9/11. The words of Paul Le-Bao-Thin, the Vietnamese martyr cited by the Pope in his encyclical, amazingly describe Christian hope. Narrating his life in prison, he says: ÂÂIn the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone ÂÂ Christ is with me .... In the midst of this storm I cast my anchor towards the throne of God, the anchor that is the lively hope in my heartÂÂ (Spe Salvi, 37). Indeed, the Holy Father affirms, ÂÂSuffering and torment is still terrible and well-nigh unbearable. Yet the star of hope has risen ÂÂ the anchor of the heart reaches the very throne of God. Instead of evil being unleashed within man, the light shines victorious: suffering ÂÂ without ceasing to be suffering ÂÂ becomes, despite everything, a hymn of praise.ÂÂ (ibid). In these difficult times that we are living, may you be anchors of hope in your airport ministry. Let us entrust your work and each one of us to Mary, ÂÂthe Mother of hope. Holy Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, teach us to believe, to hope, to love with youÂÂ (ibid., 50). We wish you a most fruitful Conference. Sincerely yours in the Lord, X Archbishop Agostino Marchetto Secretary Msgr. Novatus Rugambwa Undersecretary |