CBCP hopes Vatican will approve 'personal prelature' for Filipino migrants


The Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) is optimistic that the proposed personal prelature for Filipino migrants will be approved by the Vatican once it is submitted.
 

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(Bishop Narciso Abellana/Photo creedit to CBCP)

Bishop Narciso Abellana of ECMI, the migration arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), believes that if the personal prelature for Filipino migrants comes to fruition, it will “enable the Church to effectively carry out its work.”

“We hope that this idea of a prelature for migrant workers prospers,” he said in a statement on Thursday, Sept. 7.

He underscored that prelature will be particularly beneficial in reaching out to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially those in “territories without Catholic chaplaincies.”

“This may have a wider scope in reaching our migrant workers since it does not depend solely on the present chaplaincies,” Abellana added.

 

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/05/bishop-supports-creation-of-personal-prelature-for-ofws/

The CBCP added that the discussion regarding the proposed prelature responsible for the spiritual and pastoral welfare of Filipino migrants has been ongoing for at least three years now, when a Filipino priest serving in the U.S. Diocese of San Diego discussed the necessity of such with the CBCP in January 2020.

 

READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/03/bishops-to-decide-on-proposal-to-create-personal-prelature-for-filipino-migrants/

The Catholic bishops' organization established a special committee to further explore this proposal.

At the CBCP plenary assembly in July, the bishops reaffirmed the need for additional time and research before submitting the prelature to the Vatican for a decision.

CBCP President Bishop Pablo Virgilio David noted that the “extension was deemed necessary to give for more consultation with the other episcopal conferences, especially in countries where Filipino migrants and itinerants are present.”

“The working committee was also asked to anticipate such concerns as logistics and the formation of priests for ministry to OFWs as well as the formation of migrant Catholics as missionaries, especially in countries where Christians are a minority,” he added.