Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The 18th Plenary Session of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People will take place May 13-15 at the Dicastery headquarters in Piazza San Calisto, Vatican City. Taking part in the event will be 26 of its members (Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops) from various different countries, accompanied by 14 Consultants, also of diverse nationalities, and specialists in matters relating to the nine sectors of human mobility entrusted to the care of the Pontifical Council. The theme of the Plenary is “The Migrant and Itinerant Family.” Human mobility, the sign of our times, is becoming a very pertinent and controversial topic. As a structural reality in contemporary society, it is also presenting an increasingly complex situation. Moreover, the family today is threatened by evermore complicated cultural trends. The families of migrant people, therefore, are doubly at risk, facing difficult uncertainties and in search of solutions that are often hard to be found.
The President of the Pontifical Council, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, will open the Session with a talk on the theme, based on the Dicastery’s most recent publications. The Secretary, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, will later speak on “The thought, work, and evolution of the Pontifical Council since the last Plenary Session,” which took place two years ago. There will also be guest speakers, knowledgeable in the material being treated in the Session, as well as personnel who work directly with the families in various sectors of human mobility in various countries, who will offer their personal testimonies. The final stage of the Plenary Session will be dedicated to presenting initiatives to respond to the problems and situations examined during the Session, as well as to questions, suggestions, and observations. At the end of the Plenary Session, the participants will meet with the Holy Father Benedict XVI, who will receive them in an audience on Thursday, May 15. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 6/5/2008; righe 25, parole 316)
