Migrants and Seafarers’ Ministry Bearers of Hope

One of the current issues that the world is facing right now is the problem regarding migrants. Everyday many people decide to migrate to search for work or economic opportunity, to join family, or to study. Others move to escape conflict, persecution or large-scale human rights violations. Still others move in response to the adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters or other environmental factors.

In the Philippines, more than 5,000 Filipinos are leaving the country daily for better jobs abroad and each one of them have needs and the Church as a bearer of hope is not blind of it. So, in order to answer the growing spiritual, pastoral and social needs of our brothers and sisters who go abroad and their families and become the source of hope, the Church created a commission that will oversee them.

And here in the Archdiocese of Davao, the Davao Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples is the official arm of the Archdiocese of Davao in giving pastoral care to the Overseas Filipino Workers for both land and sea based. The commission aims to provide spiritual support, counseling, and practical assistance to migrants and seafarers. It also aims not only to provide assistance to the Filipinos scattered throughout the world. It addresses the needs of the families left behind by the OFWs. Moreover, it appeals to the Schools and Parishes to assist in giving total spiritual guidance both to the Overseas Filipinos and their dependents back home. It undertakes formation and awareness programs for teachers and students on the advantages and disadvantages of migration. In a nutshell, the commission “envisions a church and society where everyone has sufficient means to decent life and where strangers feel welcomed and cared for.”