A recent conference hosted by the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania, called ‘Our Ocean Home’ was an example of synodality in action, according to SVD Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass, who helped facilitate it.
The online public event, hosted by Australian Catholic University (ACU) and supported by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, brought together the Bishops of Oceania with experts from the region for a synodal conference towards the General Assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) in February 2023.
The Bishops of Oceania, representing cardinals, archbishops and bishops in the Conferences of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands, meet as the FCBCO every four years. Their next Assembly will be held in the Archdiocese of Suva, Fiji, from 5 to 10 February 2023.
Fr Rass, himself a Pacific Islander, has been invited to facilitate the FCBCO meeting.
The FCBCO Preparatory Event Our Ocean Home, held in late November, featured a welcome address from FCBCO President Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of Suva, who has called for a Synod on the ocean, as well as powerful insights from theologians, scientists, and First Nations people from the Asia-Pacific region, including international environmentalist Dr Jeremy Hills, Fijian personality Ratu Manoa Rasigatale, and ACU Senior Lecturer Dr Sandie Cornish, for a synodal dialogue about the impacts of climate change in Oceania.
“In the spirit of synodality modelled by Pope Francis, and inspired by the experiences of what many cultures in the Pacific Ocean known as vei-talanoa, we invited consecrated and lay women and men, young people, ecumenical networks, and ecclesial regional networks from all over the world to this historic conference,” Archbishop Chong said.
“The Bishops of Oceania are determined to engage in dialogue with you about the overwhelming crises facing our oceans, and the impact that is having on the world, in particular, my brothers and sisters in the Oceania region.”
New York-based artist Angela Manno also presented her iconography of threatened and endangered species as part of each session’s prayer reflection.
Ms Remond, an Australian consultant to the Vatican’s Ecology Taskforce and one of the ACU-based organisers of the FCBCO Preparatory Event, said it was vital for dialogue and a synodal approach to inform decision making processes and to open new pathways for ecclesial leadership at a local, regional, and global level both in and outside the Church.
“The nations and peoples of the Oceania region are facing some of the world’s greatest inequities and uncertainties,” Ms Remond said.
“Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, security and extractive economic agendas have fashioned an inflection point on future survival. The decisions we make today will determine the region’s tomorrow.”
Fr Rass said thought the conference was an impressive event and an important sharing of knowledge in the lead-up to the FCBCO meeting.
“It was a really holistic meeting,” he said. “By that, I mean that we heard from marine biologists, practical theologians and activists and advocates in the climate change space.
“Everyone’s point of view was important, and put together, they created a very rounded view of the situation.”
The oceans cover 70 per cent of Earth’s surface and are home to up to 80 per cent of all life in the world. The oceans capture 90 per cent of additional heat generated from greenhouse gas emissions and are a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change.
PHOTO: A recent global online conference promoted dialogue on the impact of climate change on Pacific Islands and peoples. Image: ACU.