by Santosh Digal

The Catholic Church in Asia is increasingly concerned by the unstoppable exodus of Filipino migrants and confirms that it must be involved in taking care of their spiritual and psychological needs.

Iloilo City (AsiaNews) – Millions of Asians leave their homes and native lands seeking work abroad, six million from East and South-East Asia alone. Taking care of them is a priority for lay and religious pastoral workers alike. A training course now in its sixth edition has given them some support. In fact this year’s week-long event has attracted the largest number of participants to date with 46 delegates coming from Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The course was organised by the Scalabrini Migrant Center in co-operation with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and the Episcopal Commission on the Pastoral Care of Migrant and Itinerant People. It focused on the problems migrants face today in Asia and what role the Church can play.

Participation in the course offered a deeper look at the sense of “being” Church in Asia today. Participants were given an opportunity to share experiences and explain the approaches used by their respective Churches in managing the problems faced by people when they leave their homeland or try to integrate in a new country.

Mgr Angel N. Lagdameo, archbishop of Jaro, who attended the opening session of the course, noted that the Church had a role to play in promoting the spiritual and psychological well-being of migrants and of the families they leave behind.

At the same time he said that migrant workers should be modern missionaries in their work place.

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