The bishops of Oceania must tackle the reality of rising sea levels in their part of the world “because if they don’t, no one else will”.
These were the words of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) president Archbishop Peter Loy Chong.
In an interview with this newspaper after the opening mass of the FCBCO general assembly at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Suva yesterday, Archbishop Loy Chong said the main topic to be discussed during the six-day general assembly was “how to care for the ocean”.
“This assembly is divided into three parts,” he said.
“The first being how we are going to care for the ocean, number two is about how we as Catholic bishops are going to work together, and number three is the mission in the area.
“We will speak about the small island nations and the Pacific Ocean in a way that we who live on the islands and live on the ocean know the importance of the ocean and its significance in terms of the Earth’s whole ecosystem.”
He said the bishops would participate in site visits while in Fiji to assess the impact of rising sea levels and extractive mining processes on low-lying island nations.
“We will visit villages like Togoru, Mua and Nakavu – we will listen to the cries of the earth and of the vulnerable people.
“As theologians say, context matters and as Jon Sobrino, the Latin American theologian says, ‘we have to carry the weight of the reality of our experience’ and, for us, that experience is of the oceans.
“At the end of the assembly, we are to establish the FCBCO pastoral plan and to have an organisation and support structure.”
The FCBCO is made up of independent and autonomous bishop conferences, each of which is equal standing and right in the federation.
While recognising the due autonomy of each particular church and the respective bishop’s conferences, the members of the four bishops conferences realised that “by sharing their wisdom, experience and exchanging views” they would be able to formulate a program for the common good of the church.
A total of 84 bishops and archbishops will be present during the assembly, and they include the Catholic Bishops Conference of Australia, New Zealand, of the Pacific, of Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
Archbishop Loy Chong said the 2023 FCBCO assembly would be unique because it brought together the mission of the Oceania Bishops conferences and Pope Francis’ vision for the synodal church.
“The FCBCO executive council hopes that the assembly with strengthen synodality and mission in Oceania.”
