Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants

The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants ("Pontificium Consilium de Spirituali Migrantium atque Itinerantium Cura") is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. The Council, established by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988, is dedicated to the spiritual welfare of migrant and itinerant people.

The current President of Council is Renato Cardinal Martino, who was appointed as such by Pope Benedict XVI on March 11, 2006.

Role

According to Article 149 of the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, "Pastor Bonus", promulgated by Pope John Paul II on June 28, 1988: "The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People brings the pastoral concern of the Church to bear on the special needs of those who have been forced to leave their native land or who do not have one. It also sees to it that these matters are considered with the attention they deserve." Articles 150 and 151 also number refugees, exiles, nomads, circus workers, sailors, airport or airplane workers, and Christians taking pilgrimages as being under the Council's care.

History

During the nineteenth century, "movement" was under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, with the Office for the Spiritual Care of Emigrants later replacing it. In 1952, within the Sacred Consistorial Congregation, Pope Pius XII founded the Superior Council for Emigrants and the General Secretariat for the Direction of the Apostolatus Maris; in 1958, the General Direction of the Apostleship of the Skies or the Air was also erected. Pope Paul Vl founded the International Secretariat for the Direction of the Apostolatus Nomadum in the same dicastery in 1965.

In 1967, Pope Paul instituted the Office for the Pastoral Care of people who are part of the complex phenomenon known commonly as "Tourism" in the Congregation for the Clergy. On March 19, 1970, Paul condensed all sectors dealing with human mobility into the Pontifical Commission for the Spiritual Care of Migrants and Itinerants, in the "motu proprio" [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19700319_apostolicae-caritatis_lt.html Apostolicae Caritatis] . The Commission was made dependent on the Congregation for Bishops but this dependence was eventually terminated by "Pastor Bonus", which granted it the status of a Pontifical Council.

Current structure

*President: Renato Cardinal Martino
**President(s) Emeritus: Giovanni Cardinal Cheli, Stephen Cardinal Hamao
*Secretary: Archbishop Agostino Marchetto
*Undersecretary: Monsignor Novatus Rugambwa
*Cardinalatial Members: Georg Sterzinsky, Adam Maida, Aloysius Ambrozic, Geraldo Majella Agnelo, Pedro Rubiano Sáenz, Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Keith O'Brien

Besides the officials listed above, the Council contains Episcopal Members, about fifteen Councillors, various other fifteen officials, and two receptionistes.

List of Presidents of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants

*Carlo Cardinal Confalonieri (1970 - 1973)
*Emanuele Clarizio (1970 - 1986, pro-president)
*Bernardin Cardinal Gantin (1984 - 1989)
*Giovanni Cardinal Cheli (1986 - 1998, pro-president and later president)
*Stephen Cardinal Hamao (1998 - 2006)
*Renato Cardinal Martino (2006 - present)

External links

* [http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/migrants/index.htm Official Vatican website]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dxpcm.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
* [http://www.gcatholic.com/dioceses/romancuria/d20.htm Giga-Catholic Information]