Tuesday 10 June 2008

KENYA: Vatican Forum to Study Care of Refugees and Migrants NAIROBI,


May 30, 2008 (CISA) -The Holy See has organised a pan-African conference on pastoral care of refugees and migrants, which will open here next week.The 3-day event is titled, ‘Towards better pastoral care of Migrants and Refugees in Africa at the dawn of the Third Millenium.’ It will take place at the Resurrection Garden retreat centre from June 3-5.The conference will be attended by representatives from over 20 African nations, including bishops and pastoral care workers. It will be an opportunity for listening, reflection, and dialogue in order to find new means for pastoral activity uniquely designed for the millions of migrants and refugees of Africa.A program published by Fides news agency includes opening addresses by the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya, Archbishop Lain Paul Lebeaupin, and the Archbishop of Nairobi, Cardinal John Njue.Key speakers include Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the dicastery, who will speak on the importance of attention to the new pastoral itineraries in the area of service to refugees and victims of human trafficking. Msgr. Novatus Rugambwa, undersecretary, will reflect on the new forms of slavery in connection with migration.Dr. Johan Ketelers, Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), will present the general situation of migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons in Africa.Cardinal Peter Kodwo Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast (Ghana), will reflect on the dialogue being carried out in the migration field between the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar and the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE).Later in the congress, there will be two round-table discussions focusing on the pastoral experiences in favor of migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, and victims of human trafficking, led by various pastoral care workers from several African nations, coordinated by His Beatitude Antonios Naguib, Patriarch of Alexandria for Copts (Egypt) and Archbishop Robert C. Ndlovu of Harare (Zimbabwe).The study sessions will be held twice and the reflections and suggestions that emerge over the course of the workshops and debates will be published in the conclusions and recommendations of the final document issued at its close.

No comments: