The Portuguese Association for the Support of Victims (APAV) will have teams dedicated to supporting young people participating in the World Youth Day (WYD) from Wednesday, the organization of the World Youth Meeting with the Pope announced on Monday.
“As we develop a plan to ensure that the largest gathering of young people from around the world with the Pope takes place in complete peace and security, APAV stands ready to welcome anyone who feels at risk or may be a victim of any form of crime and violence,” WYD Lisbon 2023 said in a statement.
APAV will operate “in close cooperation with various relevant structures, namely the forces and services of the security and emergency, civil protection, health, justice and diplomatic institutions.”
In this context, from Wednesday to August 6, there will be face-to-face support at the so-called “Meeting Hill” (Eduardo VII Park), and on August 5 and 6 at “Campo da Graça” (Tejo Park) with teams of “professionals ready for dialogue in Portuguese and English and, if necessary, using the services of an interpreter.”
WYD adds that “the APAV support team will also be available to travel to other locations in the Lisbon area where the journey will take place, as well as to the host dioceses of Santarém and Setúbal, if needed.”
On the other hand, from July 16 to August 7, the APAV Victim Support Line (toll-free number 116 006) is open 24/7 and the association can also be contacted by e-mail [email protected].
The Portuguese Victim Support Association “will also launch the ‘website’ apav.pt/jmj, a customized resource that collects information on support services, as well as practical advice on the safety of people and goods, which can be easily accessed on a mobile phone and is available in the five official languages of the meeting, namely Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and Italian,” the statement said.
This APAV intervention is advancing under a protocol signed in March with the JMJ Lisbon 2023 Foundation.
By signing the protocol, Bishop Américo Aguiar, President of the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation, stressed the need to ensure that “all people who come to the WYD feel in a friendly and safe environment.”
João Lázaro of APAV emphasized that this is “the first time that attention to the victims has its own dimension when planning an event of such a huge scale.”
As the issue of child abuse in the Church is of concern to those responsible for WYD, the APAV intervention will focus on the wide variety of types of incidents that may affect young people participating in YYD.
Lisbon has been chosen by Pope Francis to host the next World Youth Day, which will take place from 1 to 6 August this year, with the main ceremonies taking place in the Eduardo VII Park and the Tagus Park, north of the Nasoins Park, on the banks of the Tagus River, in the lands of the municipalities of Lisbon and Loures.
WYD was born at the initiative of Pope John Paul II after the success of the meeting organized in 1985 in Rome as part of the International Year of Youth.
The first meeting took place in 1986 in Rome, having already passed, in its current form, in Buenos Aires (1987), Santiago de Compostela (1989), Czestochowa (1991), Denver (1993), Manila (1995), Paris (1997), Rome (2000), Toronto (2002), Cologne (2005), Sydney ( 2008), Madrid (2011), Rio. de Janeiro (2013), Krakow (2016) and Panama (2019).
This year’s event, which will feature Pope Francis, was originally scheduled for 2022 but has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pope Francis was the first to register for WYD Lisbon 2023 on October 23, 2022 at the Vatican after the Angelus celebration.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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