Concept

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Concept

Father Ralph L. Kleiter (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, Canada) has been involved in parish ministry for over 30 years. and was in the tourism industry before his ordination. He continues to exhibit a keen interest in the phenomenon of leisure-tourism and has kept in touch with this contemporary reality as a pastor through study and the designing and directing of special travel programs from his home province of Saskatchewan and Canada to local and around the world destinations.

During two sabbatical year opportunities in Europe --- London, Paris and Rome --- and at the Jesuit School of Applied Theology in Berkeley, California he has pursued his interest in the pastoral implications of tourism on the Church, whether it receives or exports significant numbers to tourists.

Specifically, he has been able to develop several tools which enables travelers to make their travel experiences more than a cruise or bus tour more than simply an escape to the sun more than a "Retreat at Sea", and even more than a pilgrimage.

A Ministry to Tourism strives to make a travel experience truly a "discovering of the Sacred in reflective travel".

Reflections on a new ministry/pastoral for the Church
NOTE: These are bookmarks which will take you to the various reflections.
Please join us in reflecting for a moment, then you can return to this site:

Introductory Reflections
Need Identified by the Holy See
Need Recognized in More Faith Communities
The Challenge to Move with this New Ministry into the Third Millennium
A Fully Developed Ministry to Tourism Would Enable the Church . . .

We have all been tourists or visitors at one time or other. Sometimes the hospitality we experienced in a particular place --- even in a Christian Cathedral or historic sight -- stood out in our memory for the wrong reasons. We left that place wondering whether the message of the Christian and/or Hebrew scriptures was ever heard there.

As Church people we know that such encounters as these can prove to be the first steps in the birth and development of faith life. No wonder the church's new Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) underscores the importance of hospitality and care of the inquirer. Aware of this central element in sharing the "Good News" to all people, a ministry to tourism which attempts to reflect basic human values contained in the Gospel message can become a "new vehicle for the manifestation and proclamation of this message." (Declaration on Tourism, Basilica of s. Vitale, Ravenna, 13th October 1990).

It is in this light that time and again Pope John Paul II has shown the value that the Church attaches to the pastoral of tourism. In speaking to the 2nd World Congress on the Pastoral Care of Tourism (Nov.10,1979) the Pope emphasized that this growing phenomenon is becoming "a significant moment in the life of our contemporaries which needs a specific evangelization".

Over recent years we have observed and experienced travel to be as Paul VI described it as "the social event" of the century. Even small provinces in Canada with minimal tourist attractions find large populations on the move during various seasons. This reality should move us to reflect and question whether the Church in Canada and elsewhere could not be more ready to address this "epoch-making mass phenomenon" (John Paul II, Sept. 1,1979).

Shortly after the second Vatican Council the Holy See established several offices to address contemporary pastoral concerns such as tourism. Recently the Constitution Pastor Bonus (March 1989) raised the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migration & of Tourism to the status of a fully-fledged Council. It seems clear that people at this Pontifical Council in Rome are quite aware of the infancy status and pioneering nature that this pastoral field currently demands. Archbishop G. Cheli at the Council in addressing the IV World Congress for Pastoral Care of Tourism (Rome, November 1990) said:

"Even today, it is still not easy to see tourism as a sector in human life calling for sustained attention. 'A misunderstood industry, a service to be developed' was the theme of this year's world tourism day, but we could just as correctly talk about 'a misunderstood pastoral field, a service to be developed'"

In 1969 the Holy See published a General Directory for the Pastoral Ministry in the field of Tourism. It has already proven helpful in the countries where tourism is being seriously addressed. Not only does it outline the values and concerns of tourism, but it stresses that responsibility for it lies with the entire community of the faithful.

"The evangelization of this 'social event of the century' is the duty of the whole People of God, both clergy and laity, each according to his or her specific competence, and should be a manifestation of the new horizons of charity and of concern for the new form and structure of the Christian community towards whose dynamic activation, expansion and transformation tourism contributes".

The second section of this document focuses at some length on the various pastoral practices tourism might invite us to undertake.

Need Recognized in More Faith Communities

In many Canadian parishes and faith communities today, especially during the long weekend or holiday seasons, people of all ages are conspicuous by their absence from their Sunday liturgy and worship. Where are they? More often than ever, they are gone to a lake resort, skiing, or visiting friends and relatives in another region of the country. In some areas and during inclimate seasons the "exodus to the South" is particularly evident in church life. Even if they remain in their locale, people are drawn to the nearest "people place" for leisure activities (e.g. shopping malls or sports centres etc.) If this is true among the active church people, we can well imagine how true it is for those who are less committed.

In addition, the increasing demands for good communications and education means that people from most sectors of society are frequently on the move attending conventions, conferences etc. in and outside the different regions of our land. The hotel and transport industries can easily attest to this fact.

In all these cases, are we attempting to help parish congregations face and adapt a pastoral care program that is responsive to these recently established realities in our country?

It is clear from the above and from the many statements on the subject issued by modern- day popes from Pius XII to John Paul II that the pastoral care of tourists and those involved in the tourism industry deserve a new and continuing impulse. Recently, as reflected by nearly two hundred delegates from various countries attending a World Congress in Rome (Nov. 1990), more and more countries are indeed attempting to respond seriously to these invitations from the Holy See, and the World Council of Churches.

The Challenge to Move with this New Ministry into The Third Millennium

During the European Year of Tourism 1990, a declaration on tourism was published by Church leaders and they invited us "to take note of the urgent need to instill in tourism the human values embodied in the spirit of the Gospel."

People today spend so much time and energy in order to get away on a weekend, day off or a vacation. A central challenge of an effective ministry to leisure-tourism is to educate people to approach this dimension of life in a more enriching way. Those who serve tourists, whether within church or industry setting, need to help people integrate the physical and spiritual into a wholeness whereby their leisure pursuits satisfy what is really a spiritual need. In our society we recognize serious situations of deprivation. A ministry to leisure-tourism, however, faces a huge challenge of educating a growing population in this regard reflecting the approach which Jesus Christ Himself took when he frequently sought a "lonely place."

Furthermore, for some countries it would seem that an appropriate use of tourism within their country might be a timely way to help them work toward a unity that sometimes seems to be lacking between the various cultures, provinces and/or regions. At the same time, tourism is an area where inter-faith and inter-church cooperation may well further the reign of God.

We also know that in developed countries we can expect an increase in the age of people. Studies indicate that by 2020 as much as nineteen per cent of the population will be 65 years of age or older. Today, generally around ten percent of the population is 65 years of age or older. It should be noted that it is retired people who are primarily available for travel because they generally have more time and resources to be directed through the enrichment of travel.

The new millennium is upon us! Many celebrations took place during year 2000, (e.g. Expositions, Olympics) as well as several Christian observances, (e.g. Jubilee Year 2000, Oberammergau Passion Play, pilgrimages to the Holy Land, etc.). The Ministry to Tourism served well for the movement of people during year 2000.

Pope John Paul II is of course aware that this tourism reality affects people of all ages, and young people are no exception. That is why he has requested the local churches,

Finally, it would seem that in today's Church we are more aware of our call to evangelize and/or re-evangelize, to be really hospitable "heralds" of the Good News. True hospitality is the first essential step in any form of pastoral practice. For this reason the General Directory exhorts us to consider the pastoral care of tourism to be "a component of the ordinary and essential pastoral care of the diocese" (N.18). In a concerted and intentional way we have to get rid of any negative aspects tourism may have and work together so that tourism, like every human reality, may be redeemed and sanctified.

A Fully Developed Ministry to Tourism Would Enable the Church . . .

A fully developed Ministry to Tourism would enable the Church to:

Facilitate parishes in tourist areas to more fully and creatively develop their ministry.

Address the needs of travelers at International airports, religious sights and events, resorts and theme/nature parks.

Influence and dialogue within tourism industry and other bodies in so far as the tourism affects social justice, ecological issues and general pastoral concerns.

Be a vehicle to promote values as directed by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples (Tourism section).

Promote associations of Christian/Catholic persons in the tourism industry.

Offer models for meaningful group travel for elderly, youth etc., and to qualify visits to sacred places and events.

Promote an appropriate influence and presence of the Church's ministry on cruise ships regularly visiting our ports.

Establish a network of support and sharing with those involved in the actual ministry to tourists.

Organize educational opportunities for tourism - e.g. workshops, conferences, etc.

Assist, in co-operation with Liturgy Committees, the development of good and meaningful liturgical celebrations in tourist areas.

© Fr. Ralph (Ministry to Tourism)