Filipino Chaplains, Pastoral Workers to meet in Europe

FILIPINO chaplains and pastoral workers ministering to Filipino communities in Europe are set to meet in Dublin, Ireland for a five-day regional consultation meeting on August 27-31.

Episcopal Commission on Migrant and Itinerant People (ECMI) executive secretary Fr. Edwin Corros, CS said the regional consultation meeting started as a response from Filipino chaplains to meet the need to accompany and minister to Filipino communities in Europe.

“It started as a gathering of Filipino chaplains around the world, later they agreed to meet as a region,” said Corros.

Filipino chaplains are active in their ministry of accompanying Filipino communities in the regions of Asia, Oceania and Europe, where a big concentration of Filipino communities can be found.

Corros said Middle East and Africa are regions where labor market is not well established and Filipino communities are spread out. Except for Filipino missionaries belonging to religious congregations assigned in these countries, there are no Filipino chaplains to minister to Filipinos working in these regions.

“In Africa, Filipinos are usually deployed in far flung areas not accessible to missionaries,” explained Corros. “Whereas in Middle East, the practice of religion is not allowed,” he added.

The regional meeting will tackle family and labor concerns affecting Filipino communities in Europe.

A Vatican representative from the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People will deliver a keynote address on the issue of Workers in the Pastoral Care of Communion.

Priority for the Chaplaincy is to provide specific direction on the concerns of Filipino family and the youth in Europe as recommended by the 6th Regional Consultation Meeting.

Participants are also working on the following goals which they hope to achieve at the end of the meeting: to follow up challenges posed by the 6th Regional meeting; to share and learn the good practices employed by chaplaincies to improve services to migrants and their families; to review and enhance collaboration between churches, government and other civic organizations through concrete plans of action in their advocacy and linkages; and to review and ensure the application of the Vatican document “Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi.”

Already in its 7th round, the regional assembly which started 14 years ago is held every two years. This year’s conference has the theme, Filipinos and their families, contributors to European church and society.