Yesterday the Holy See issued "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road"

Story.

It seems they don't have the full text on the Vatican site yet, but I bet it's a good read.

magprob

Can I still have my little Jesus on the dash board?

shygrneyzs

Interesting. Growing up we always made a Sign of the Cross before getting into the car, for a blessing to safe travel, even if it was across town. Sometimes, depending on who was driving, we made a Sign of the Cross after getting back home safely! I am not joking on that either.

Fr_Chuck

Normally I have been said to have religious driving, it scares ( well the devil) out of you

RickJ

Sure. But don't hang rosary beads from your rear view mirror. They might poke you in the eye if you accelerate quickly.

Wangdoodle

Just a side note. It kinda bothers me when I see rosary beads hanging in the rear view mirror. Call me a stuffy Catholic if you like, but that's just not what they are for. Any how, I would like to read the whole document.

RickJ

I agree. I joked with my non-Catholic friend.
Catholic Christians should NOT hang rosaries from the rear view mirror. It reminds me of the practice of blessing one's self so quickly that people wonder whether we're blessing ourselves or swatting flies.

Both practices only help serve to make our faith look shallow.

Fr_Chuck

And I will even add a funny police side of this, in "most" states ( laws are all state) it is actually against the law to have anything hanging from your mirror while driving. That was the number one reason we always had for a reason for a traffic stop if we suspected the car of something.

Yep even read those handicap tags hanging, they all say to remove while driving. Even those little air freshners are illegal from hanging while you are driving. ( at least in every state I was a police officer)

I do carry my rosary with me all the time, I have a pouch that hooks to my belt and I always carry it.

Fr_Chuck

From the Vatican web site.


DOCUMENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLE: "GUIDELINES FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE ROAD"

CONTENTS

Presentation
PART ONE
THE PASTORAL CARE OF ROAD USERS

I. The phenomenon of human mobility

Road traffic and human progress

II. The Word of God illuminates the road

Signs from the Old Testament
Signs from the New Testament
Christ is the Way, He is the Road

III. Human aspects

The particular psychology of drivers
Escape from everyday reality and the pleasure of driving
The domination instinct
Vanity and personal glorification

Unbalanced behaviour and related consequences
Various manifestations
A non-pathological phenomenon

IV. Moral aspects of driving

Driving means coexisting
Driving means controlling oneself
Ethical aspects
Driving a vehicle and the risks entailed
The mandatory nature of road regulations
The moral responsibility of road users

V. The Christian virtue of drivers and their “Ten Commandments”

Charity and serving one’s neighbour
The virtue of Prudence
The virtue of Justice
The virtue of Hope
Drivers’ “Ten Commandments”

VI. The Church’s mission

Prophecy in a serious and alarming situation
Road safety education
Target audiences
Appeal by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council

VII. Pastoral Care of the Road

Evangelisation within the context of the road

PART TWO
PASTORAL MINISTRY FOR THE LIBERATION OF STREET WOMEN

I. Some key points

Prostitution is a form of slavery
Migration, people trafficking and human rights
Who are the victims of prostitution?
Who are the “customers”?

II. The Church’s duty

Promotion of the dignity of persons
Solidarity and proclamation of the Good News
A multi-dimensional approach

III. Rehabilitation of women and “customers”

Education and research
The Church’s social teaching

IV. Liberation and redemption

Provision of assistance and evangelisation

PART THREE
THE PASTORAL CARE OF STREET CHILDREN

I. The phenomenon, its causes and possible initiatives

The problem
The causes of the problem
Possible initiatives and their objectives

II. Issues regarding methods

A multi-dimensional approach

III. The task of evangelisation and human promotion

Specific pastoral care
A pastoral ministry based on encounter, a new evangelisation

IV. Some concrete proposals

V. The educators’ icons

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and the disciples at Emmaus
One final goal

VI. Pastoral agents

Training
Together for a joint commitment
Networking with a minimum of pastoral structures

PART FOUR
THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE HOMELESS (TRAMPS)

I. The beneficiaries

Causes of the situation
The precariousness of the situation
The dignity of persons

II. Methods of approach and and means of assistance

Christian care

Fr_Chuck

GUIDELINES FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE ROAD

VATICAN CITY, JUN 19, 2007 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, the official presentation took place of the document "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road," published by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. Participating in the press conference were Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino and Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, respectively president and secretary of that pontifical council.

The document - published in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian - is divided into four sections: The pastoral care of road users, pastoral ministry for the liberation of street women, the pastoral care of street children, and the pastoral care of the homeless.

Cardinal Martino indicated that the idea of preparing this document arose during the First European Meeting of National Directors of the Pastoral Care of the Road, held in 2003. "Its aim," he said, "is to guide and coordinate all the ecclesial bodies in the world of the pastoral care of the road, and to encourage and stimulate episcopal conferences of countries in which this form of pastoral care does not exist, to organize it."

Commenting on the first part of the document, Cardinal Martino expressed the view that "Church and State, each in its own field, must work to create a generalized public awareness on the question of road safety and promote, using all possible means, ... an adequate education among drivers, travelers and pedestrians."

Referring to the evangelization of the road, the president of the pontifical council recalled that the Church also aims at "the religious formation of car drivers, professional transporters, passengers, and all those people who, in one way or another, are associated with roads and railways." In this context, he recalled the fact that in many countries there are "fixed or mobile highway chapels, and pastoral workers who visit motorway service areas and periodically celebrate liturgies there."

For his part, Archbishop Marchetto explained the remaining three parts of the document: pastoral ministry for the liberation of street women, the pastoral care of street children, and the pastoral care of the homeless.

In order to respond effectively to the first of these, said the archbishop, "it is important to understand the factors that push ... women into prostitution, the strategies used by intermediaries and traffickers to make them submit to their will, the paths along which they move from their countries of origin to those of destination, and the institutional resources needed to face the problem. Fortunately the international community and many non-governmental organizations are seeking ever more energetically to combat criminal activities and to protect the victims of human trafficking, developing a vast range of resources to prevent the phenomenon and to rehabilitate its victims back into social life.

"The Church," he added, "has the pastoral responsibility to defend and promote the human dignity of those exploited by prostitution, and to work towards their liberation, providing economic, educational and formative support to this end. She ... must also prophetically denounce the injustices and violence perpetrated against street women and invite people of good will to commit themselves to the defense of their human dignity, ... putting an end to sexual exploitation."

Archbishop Marchetto described the issue of street children, as "a phenomenon of unimaginable proportions, ... 150 million according to the International Labor Organization." He identified its causes in "the increasing disintegration of families, ... immigration which uproots people from their familiar environment and disorientates them, and conditions of extreme poverty."

"In order for children to have a future in life, it is of fundamental importance to infuse in them a feeling of self-confidence, self-respect and dignity, ... in order for them to develop a genuine desire to resume studying ... and to create dignified and gratifying life projects, through their own efforts and not dependent upon others." In this area, he continued, "it is necessary to seek out and meet the young people in the places they gather, on the streets, ... and in the 'hotspots' of our metropolises."

"Generally speaking, street dwellers are considered with diffidence and suspicion, and the fact of not having a house becomes the start of a progressive loss of rights. Thus they become a multitude without a name and without a voice, incapable of defending themselves or of finding the resources to improve their future." Fortunately, "there is no lack of pastoral responses, ... though insufficient, by parishes Catholic organizations ecclesial movements and new communities. There are people who go out to seek these brothers and sisters in need, creating a network of friendship and support and giving life to generous initiatives of solidarity."

In closing, Archbishop Marchetto highlighted "the close link of the pastoral care of the road with its source, Christ the Lord in the mystery of His incarnation, and with the Church and her preferential option for the poor, who must be evangelized while respecting everyone's freedom of conscience and letting oneself, in turn, be evangelized by them."
OP/PASTORAL CARE ROAD/MARTINO:MARCHETTOVIS 070619 (840)