Basing his reflection on the insight of Vatican II that whatever is genuinely human resonates in the hearts of Christians, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny, assures “all those who work at sea … that they are in the heart of the church; they are not alone in their demands for justice, dignity, and joy.”
In his message for Sea Sunday—observed each year on the second Sunday of July—Cardinal Czerny insisted that the Good News of the Risen Christ demands that Christians question “even more radically … the existing order, because the Kingdom of God calls us to conversion.”
So, “the whole church is called to consider how people work in ports and on ships today, with what rights, under what conditions, with what material and spiritual assistance,” he said.
He also called on Catholics “to shine some light on what lies behind our economies, on those who make them work on a daily basis, often not benefitting from them at all and indeed exposing themselves to discrimination and danger.”