Apostleship Of The Sea Sets Up Network, Urges Catholics To Assist Those Harmed By Oil Spill

WASHINGTON—The overseer of the maritime ministry of the U.S. bishops expressed solidarity with those impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and announced the creation of a network to help with the human and environmental harm caused by the disaster.

In a video at www.youtube.com/user/usccb#p/p/96DDE9247B03585A/0/cO63wxFuVM0, Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, Georgia, bishop promoter of the Apostleship of the Sea, urged Catholics to assist the work already being done by the Church to address this disaster. He said the Apostleship of the Sea is setting up a network of diocesan relief efforts along the Gulf Coast and cited the work of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese and New Orleans (www.ccano.org) as one avenue for getting involved.

Bishop Boland also offered prayers for the victims of the oil rig explosion and their families and for the fishermen and others whose livelihoods are threatened by the environmental damage to the Gulf. He also urged Catholic to pray for the success of efforts to stop the spill and clean up the Gulf.

“It is God’s creation,” Bishop Boland said of the environment. “He has given it to us to take care of it. We must do all that we can, both as individuals and as a Church and as a community to restore to its proper dimensions and its proper beauty what God has given to us.”

The Apostleship of the Sea provides spiritual care to seafarers and all who rely on the sea for their livelihood. For more information on the Apostleship of the Sea and its relief efforts in the Gulf, visit: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/pastoral-care-of-migrants-refugees-and-travelers/apostleship-of-the-sea/index.cfm
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Keywords: Gulf of Mexico, oil spill, environment, Apostleship of the Sea, Bishop J. Kevin Boland, Archdiocese of New Orleans, Catholic Charities