(February 19, 2011) Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants
and Itinerants has issued a message to the International Tourism Fair being held at
Rho-Pero in Milan, Italy. The President of the Council, Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò
writing to the participants at the BIT-Tourism Fair appealed for a sense of responsibility
in defending the bio-diversity of the natural environment. BIT is a trade show dedicated
to Travel & Tourism. Not only social, economic, cultural and ecological motives inspired
this respect for the environment, he said, but also religious motives. For, nature
speaks to us of God the Creator, who is actively present in his creation. The Archdiocese
of Milan, the Italian Bishops’ conference and the Vatican’s Pontifical Council, staffed
a stand at the Fair, to promote such ideas. Among the projects presented at this stand
was a village in Capo Verde, known as Case do sol, which was an initiative of a Capucin
missionary, who had made the village a social health centre. Vatican’s Council called
on those responsible to educate people to contemplate the beauties of nature and to
help the tourist to discover the traces of God in the abundant wealth of bio-diversity.
The Fair that began on February 17th will close on Sunday.