Dear Chaplains and volunteers of the AOS East Far East Region,

As President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People, through my representative Fr. Bruno Ciceri, I would like to greet all of you with the joy and strength of the Risen Lord who encourages you not to be afraid to give witness and bring the good news of Christ in every dock and vessel touching your shores.

Your Regional Conference bears witness to the deep pastoral concern of the Church for seafarers, fishers and their families. In fulfilling this mission you face a most challenging and difficult task. Everyday, you come across people of different nationalities, cultures and beliefs, lost in a sea of painful problems, such piracy, separation from family and friends, living and working for long periods detached from their natural, civil and religious environment. Indeed, the maritime world has become a missionary world!

To face this challenging ministry, it is necessary, as the Regional Coordinator Fr. Romeo Yu-Chang was saying in presenting the theme of your encounter, to "Fan the flame offaith (2 Tim1:6-7). Our faith in the Lord Jesus sustains us in this work ofministry ofwelcome. Fan the flame! Fan the flames of love in our ministry. Let each of us consider how to stir the embers of our spiritual fervor and really get on fire for God and the people we minister to".

First of all I would like to express a word of solidarity to AOS Japan. The recent tragedies of the earthquake and the tsunami have brought a lot of suffering and destruction in the North of the country. The local fishing industry was hit quite hard, many infrastructures and vessels were destroyed. The Pontifical Council, as it was done in 2005 after the tsunami in Asia, has launched a special appeal to raise funds to assist in the reconstruction process. The AOS family around the world has responded generously and I am looking forward to cooperating with the AOS Bishop Promoter, H. E. Msgr. Michael Goro Matsuura, and the National Director, Mrs. Soon-Ho Kim, to identify areas of intervention to provide assistance to fishers and theirs families in order to rebuild not only their boats but theirs lives as well.

This Pontifical Council recognizes the importance of development in your vast and difficult Region. For this reason, I am extremely pleased of recent expansions such as the official opening of the Stella Maris Center in Taichung, Taiwan, and the appointment of Fr. Dennis Carrier as AOS National Director of Cambodia, by Msgr. Olivier Schmitthaeusler, Bishop of the Vicariate of Phnom-Penh. These are signs that the local Churches are becoming more sensitive and attentive to the people of the sea and that our apostolate is growing. However, in looking ahead it is necessary to consider the economic and political choices made by the different countries in the Region. We must identify the ports which, in the next 15/20 years, will become the center of the maritime traffic in Asia; then, in communion with the local Churches, develop a plan, by investing money and personnel, to assure the presence of the AOS ministry in these future hubs of important maritime routes.

Considering that your Region is the main supplier of seafarers in the world, I can see three challenges facing you in providing pastoral care to the people of the sea.

First, I would like to remind the importance of establishing a fruitful collaboration with the different maritime schools to provide "Character Formation Course" for future seafarers in which to instill fundamental Christian principles. Students, where it is possible, should be invited to visit the Stella Maris Centers showing the importance that these centers are playing in providing material and spiritual assistance to seafarers.

Second, seafarers families require specific pastoral care because often the mother has to assume many roles in relation to the children and has to face different situations on her own. I would like to exhort all of you to establish associations of seafarers wives to provide mutual support and encouragement.

Third, a great number of seafarers victims of piracy come from your region and you know the traumatic effects of long term hijacking. Many international organizations are studying the phenomenon and analyzing the psychological consequences on the seafarers and their families. I understand the practical difficulties in dealing with such a complex situation, however it is unfortunate that AOS in the Region with this pressing situation has not yet developed a programme of direct education of seafarers and theirs families to prepare them to face the tragic reality of being sequestered by pirates in case it will happen. Nonetheless, with the limited experience that you had acquired in dealing with some piracy cases, especially in the Philippines, you could develop pastoral guidelines to be proposed as model of intervention to reduce stressful situation, misunderstanding between the family and the vessel owner, and make sure that all the welfare provisions for the families will be guaranteed.

According to the ILO statistics, 82% of fishing is located in Asia. Depending on the nations, the development of the industrial and artisan fisheries differs in terms of equipment and vessels but they are however very similar in the fatigue of throwing and pulling the nets for a catch. Fishers are the forgotten seafarers; the latest ILO Work on Fishing Convention (188) is a good instrument for the protection of fishers but it is necessary to have it ratified and implemented. You should consider to organize in cooperation with governmental and non governmental agencies seminars, meetings, etc., to favor the understanding and ratification of the Convention for the benefit of fishers.

Once again, especially now that the four years ICSW Regional programme, with the aim of improving and strengthening the welfare work, structure and services to seafarers in the East Far East Asia is winding down, I feel the importance of reminding to all of you that it is always necessary to respect the intentions of the contributions received by international funding agencies and, when problems are encountered, a spirit of collaboration and cooperation should be put forward to find solutions that will bring lasting benefits to the people of the sea.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Bishop Bosco Lin, representing the Chinese Regional Bishops Conference (CRBC) of Taiwan, for his continuous support, and to the Taiwan Embassy to the Holy See in Rome for the financial assistance offered.

A special thanks to Fr. Romeo AOS Regional Coordinator and to Fr. Loloy AOS National Director in Taiwan with his team, for planning and organizing this Regional Meeting despite many difficulties.

I will be accompanying you with my prayers. I entrust this Regional Conference to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, praying that your reflections and decisions may be for the welfare of the many seafarers and fishers coming from your Region.