VATICAN CITY, JUNE 11, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI spoke today to participants in the 15th World Seminar for Catholic Civil Aviation Chaplains and Chaplaincy Members, promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.
They were present in Rome for a meeting on the theme of “The New Evangelization in the Field of Civil Aviation”.
The Pope noted that during their gathering the chaplains were reflecting on new methods and new forms of evangelization in their area of ministry.
“Dear friends, always be conscious that you are called to embody in the world’s airports the Church’s mission of bringing God to man and leading man to the encounter with God,” he said.
“Airports are places that increasingly reflect the globalized reality of our time,” the Pontiff commented. “Here one finds people of a wide variety of nationalities, cultures, religions, social status and age.”
“Airport communities also reflect the crisis of faith that affects many people, with the result that the content of Christian doctrine and the values that it teaches are no longer regarded as points of reference, even in countries with a long tradition of ecclesial life,” the Holy Father observed.
“This is the human and spiritual environment in which you are called to proclaim the Good News with renewed vigour by your words, by your presence, by your example and by the witness you bear,” Benedict XVI continued.
“Through your Christian and priestly lives, may everyone experience something of the love that comes from God, drawing them to a renewed and deeper relationship with Christ, who speaks without fail to those who open up to him trustfully, especially in prayer,” the Holy Father added.
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