Church addresses the rise in piracy

The rising incidence of piracy on the high seas and the hijacking of ships calls for improved spiritual counselling to help crew members prepare for the possibility of and to recover from such tragedies, participants at a Vatican conference said.

More people were taken hostage at sea in 2010 than ever before, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travellers Scalabrinian Father Gabriele Bentoglio said.

According to a 2010 International Maritime Bureau report, 445 ships were attacked worldwide, 1181 seafarers were captured, and eight of them were killed, he said.

"While the owners pay soaring ransoms for the recovery of vessels and cargos," he said on February 14, "seafarers, fishers and their families are paying the highest price in terms of psychological trauma and other consequences."

The Italian priest was one of a number of speakers attending a meeting at the Vatican of regional directors of the Apostleship of the Sea from February 14-16.

He said very little professional help was given to victims of pirates, and the council invited the general commander of the Italian Coast Guard Admiral Marco Brusco to speak about the problem of piracy in order to help the apostleship better understand what could be done to support victims.

Fr Bentoglio said the apostleship, which provides spiritual care to seafarers and anyone whose livelihood depends on the sea, was in a good position to help, because it has an extensive presence in Asia, which is the region where the greatest numbers of kidnapped seafarers are from.

Only the Apostleship of the Sea can provide the kind of comfort and spiritual assistance that victims and their families needed during and after an act of piracy or kidnapping because the apostleship has "always been close to the seafarers and deeply attentive to their problems", Admiral Brusco said in a written speech. 

The speech was read by Admiral Pierluigi Cacioppo.

The apostleship, a worldwide Catholic ministry made up of chaplains, associates and volunteers, can prepare seafarers and their families by advising them of the possibility of facing a kidnapping someday, he said.

But most of all, the apostleship can provide psychological, spiritual and material support to victims and families "instilling confidence and showing understanding, increasing the necessary strength in them to face such a difficult situation, and promoting in Christian communities attitudes and works of fraternal hospitality", the admiral said.

The general commander said he was committed to providing the apostleship with "all the informational support needed to carry out this very important and delicate" task.

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