A new initiative for the pastoral care of workers was launched in Carinthia on December 6. In St. Michael ob Bleiburg, in the “Filterwerk Mahle” factory, with over 2000 employees, 7 local priests will take shifts to give counsel and assistance to workers each Thursday from 1.pm to 3 pm. The company made available a room for these purposes. The initiative sprung from a recent visit to the factory by the bishop of the diocese of Gurk, Msgr. Alois Schwarz on whose land the factory is located. The visit was organized by the Pastoral Care of Workers of Slovenia’s Commission for Pastoral Care, by Slovenia’s chapter of Azione Cattolica, by the Catholic Workers movement and by the company. The president of Slovenia’s Commission for Pastoral Care Msgr. Ivan Olip pointed out that the Church must be present precisely where people live and work. The meetings with the priests must “offer the possibility of developing religious sensitivity also in situations of crises so as to find the answers in faith”, Olip declared.
