Catholic church to remember OFWs on Migrant Workers Sunday

Filipino Catholics will offer prayers for overseas Filipino workers on National Migrants' Sunday on February 17.
 
Migrant Workers' Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday of Lent, will have as its theme “Migrations: Pilgrimage of Faith and Hope.”

This year’s National Migrants Sunday will also be celebrated in the context of the Church’s observance of the Year of Faith.
 
"The annual event not only pays tribute to millions of OFWs and their families left behind but also highlights the Church’s effort to help them cope with the effects of labor migration on their lives," an article on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website said.
 
Organized by CBCP Episcopal Commission on Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), the national celebration will be hosted by the diocese of Balanga in Bataan.
 
A 7:00 a.m. Mass will be presided by Bishop Ruperto Santos.
 
Fr. Edwin Corros will give an inspirational talk while solidarity messages will be given by guests. Simultaneous activities will also be celebrated in different dioceses around the country.
 
"The celebration of National Migrants Sunday also serves as a reminder for OFWs that their situation is a temporary one and should stop when the country could finally provide them better opportunities," the CBCP said.
 
Rights of OFWs
 
CBCP ECMI executive secretary Fr. Edwin Corros said the continued migration of Filipinos had affected their social, cultural, political and religious rights.
 
“The Church cannot merely address their spiritual needs without also thinking how they are affected by the way the Philippines and their receiving countries are being administered, because the primary reason why they go abroad is simply to find means of livelihood,” Corros said.
 
Citing the great social costs that come with migration, the CBCP assured OFWs and their families of the Church’s continuing support.
 
However, it also warned families not to focus only on the remittances they receive.
 
“While they are however in this precarious situation, the Church assures them of an accompaniment to hope for the better. The Church wishes to caution them of the other possible disadvantages that come along with migration and not merely focus on the usual material benefits that they are envisioning and hope to achieve," he said. - VVP, GMA News

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