Fr Xavier Pinto |
In July 2008, AOS India held its national chaplains meeting in the Goa. Ten chaplains from the ports of Kandla, Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore, Cochin, Vishakapatnam, Paradip, Kolkata and Port Blair joined national director Fr Xavier Pinto at the meeting.
The meeting included a two day seminar for ship welfare visitors. Short turnaround times give seafarers little opportunity to come ashore. Therefore ship visiting is vital to the work of AOS. The seminar was organised by the International Committee for Seafarers' Welfare and covered technical and practical aspects of ship visiting. Another whole day of the meeting was dedicated to the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006).
AOS is committed to working in partnership and to ecumenical co-operation. Representatives of the ILO and ITF presided at the sessions on MLC 2006. Numerous representatives of other organisations also attended. These included our ecumenical partners of the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) together with local ITF inspectors and union leaders and guests from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Map to show AOS presence in India |
The pastoral aspect of ship welfare visiting is essential to the work of AOS. A separate meeting devoted to this was held at the Immaculate Conception Church in the City of Panjim. Parish priest Fr Antimo Gomes kindly hosted the meeting. Chaplains shared their experiences of working with seafarers and fishers including offering counselling when required.
The meeting was blessed by Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao who also presented the new edition of the Manual for Chaplains and Pastoral Agents of AOS, recently published by the Pontifical Council for the Care of Migrants and Itinerant Workers. During Mass, AOS bishop promoter for India, Bishop Joshua Mar Ignathios, spoke of the seafarers whom India had contributed to the maritime world. He said
"We need to pray for the safety and well being of all seafarers daily. Jesus for most of his public life was on the sea, ocean, lakes, or rivers and is always by our side to calm any storm in our family life and bring us to the safe shores of heaven".
Delegates at the meeting visited the latest project of AOS in Goa, the Next Voyage Fitness Center. Among the guests was Rev David Potterton of our ecumenical partners Sailors' Society. Rev Potterton said it was the first fitness facility in the world, that he knew, especially for seafarers in between voyages. The AOS bishop promoter and several of the chaplains enjoyed a "work out" in the gymnasium.
click here to read about the Next Voyage Fitness Centre
click here to learn more about MLC 2006
click here for contact details of AOS in India
