VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’ latest Pope Video focuses on the difficult plight of “all those who work and live from the sea”.

 In the Vatican Press release, the arduous situation of maritime workers is highlighted with reference to the dangers of exploitation and abuse that they face.

 In the video the pontiff urges prayers for those who face “abandonment in distant ports…forced labour” and “industrial fishing and contamination.”

 The Vatican press realease also underlines how the Coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected the lives of those who work at sea and their families. The International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Fr. Frédéric Fornos S.J. emphasized the “difficulties created by the pandemic” citing “being far from their families and not being able to disembark, the fear of contagion and job insecurity during times to come.”

 The video comes at the 100 year anniversary of the Apostleship of the Sea, https://thepopevideo.org/. 

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