On this occasion, the Vatican published a Message of the Dicastery for the Integral Human Development Service, signed by its Prefect, Cardinal Peter Appia Kodwo Turkson.

The Message is addressed to chaplains, volunteers, friends and supporters of the Apostleship of the Sea, on the occasion of this annual Sea Sunday.

It stresses the importance of protecting the rights of those working at sea, as expressed in the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006.

The Message also announces the 24th World Congress of the Apostleship of the Sea, which will be devoted to fishing and fisheries, and will be held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in October 2017.

"Let us ask Mary, Star of the Sea, to sustain our service and dedication to seafarers, fishermen and their families and to protect all the people of the sea until they reach the ‘safe port' of Heaven," writes Cardinal Turkson.

Here is the full text of this Message.

Dear chaplains, volunteers, friends and supporters of the Apostleship of the Sea,

In our daily lives, we are surrounded by and use many objects and products that at some stage of their journey towards us have been transported on vessels.

It is difficult for us to imagine behind these objects the faces of the many seafarers who have secured a smooth sailing for the vessel to deliver these commodities to the port safely.

On Sea Sunday we are invited to recognize and express our gratitude to this force of more than 1.5 million seafarers, (the majority of them coming from developing countries), who with their hard work and sacrifices are making our life more comfortable by transporting, between nations and across the seven seas, almost 90 per cent of the goods. Continue reading

Sources

• Zenit
• Image: Apostleship of the Sea NZ

Cardinal Peter Turkson said proposals to drop the concept of just war were "legitimate".

He called for a "broad and deeply felt" debate on the question of just war theory.

"A possible encyclical is plausible only as the fruit of much dialogue, not as a starting point," he said.

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Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana told the BBC the Church has never been against natural family planning.

During the Pope's trip back from the Philippines, the Pontiff invited people to some form of birth control, the cardinal told the BBC.

This is "because the Church has never been against birth control and people spacing out births and all of that. So yes, it can offer a solution", he said.

"Having more mouths to feed is a challenge for us to be productive also, which is one of the key issues being treated over here [in Paris at the COP21 talks], the cultivation and production of food, and its distribution.

"So yes it engages us in food security management, so we ensure that everybody is fed and all of that.

"The amount of population that is critical for the realisation of this is still something we need to discover, yet the Holy Father has also called for a certain amount of control of birth."

Cardinal Turkson was at pains to stress that artificial birth control methods such as the contraceptive pill were still beyond the pale as far as the Church was concerned.

"You don't deal with one good with another evil: the Church wants people to be fed, so let's do what the Church feels is not right?

"That is a kind of sophistry that the Church would not go for," he said.

Cardinal Turkson, who heads the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, is believed to have played a significant role in the drafting of Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si'.

Speaking in Paris, the cardinal called for a strong agreement that would protect the most vulnerable nations.

He said climate change was a looming ecological disaster.

Sources

• BBC
• Daily Mail
• Image: Catholic Herald

Ms Klein, who campaigns for an overhaul of the global financial system to tackle climate change, will take centre stage at the conference alongside Cardinal Peter Turkson.

The cardinal is president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which issued the invitation to Ms Klein.

The conference will focus on Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' and its implications for work against climate change and towards just economies and lifestyles.

Delegates will also look ahead to two major international climate change meetings in New York and Paris.

Ms Klein, the author of "This changes everything: Capitalism Vs the Climate", expressed surprise and delight at receiving the Vatican invitation.

"The fact that they invited me indicates they're not backing down from the fight," she said.

"A lot of people have patted the Pope on the head, but said he's wrong on the economics.

"I think he's right on the economics," she said.

Critics have argued the Catholic Church should not be involved in an issue that should be left to presidents and policy-makers.

But Ms Klein said the Pope's position as a "moral voice" in the world - and leader of 1.2 billion Catholics - gives him the unique ability to unite campaigners fighting for a common goal.

"The holistic view of the encyclical should be a catalyst to bring together the twin economic and climate crises, instead of treating them separately," she said.

Ms Klein will join Cardinal Turkson and the co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Professor Ottmar Edenhofer, at a press conference on July 1.

On Sunday, an estimated 5000 people, including faith leaders, scientists and environmental campaigners, marched to St Peter's Square to support Laudato Si' and urge world leaders to take action.

There, Francis encouraged a multi-faith effort to help protect the environment.

"I encourage the collaboration between persons and associations of different religions on behalf of an integral ecology," he said.

Sources

• The Guardian
• The Guardian
• CIDSE
• Image: The Guardian

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said on March 4 that "homosexuals are not criminals" and shouldn't be sentenced for up to life in prison.

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