Federation of Oceania Bishops meet in New Caledonia

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

The Episcopal Council of the Federation of Oceania Bishops has been meeting in Paita, New Caledonia. The Council, made up of eight Bishops, met to prepare for the General Assembly of the Federation of Episcopal Conferences of Oceania to be held in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2014.

The Bishops looked at ways to prepare the different Catholic communities in Oceania for the Year of Faith (11 October 2012 – 24 November 2013), bringing attention to the challenges of the “new evangelization,” according to Pope Benedict XVI’s recommendations.

Rochus Tatamai, Bishop of Berlina, Papua New Guinea, said “In Australia and New Zealand Churches struggle to cope with the influence of secularism. But with the development of technology and communication information, even in other Pacific countries, such as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, one realizes that the challenge is the same: reaching with the Gospel the verandas of our humble homes in rural areas.”

The meeting was also a follow-up on the recommendations passed in the 2010 Sydney Federation Assembly. It was noted that a lot of the initiatives had been implemented, such as the call for more cooperation and sharing of lecturers for our seminaries especially in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The call for possible insurance cover for the priests working in the dioceses and their personal health care was also assessed.

The Federation of Oceania Bishops consists of four Episcopal Conferences: Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea-Solomon Islands, and CEPAC, which includes all other nations and small islands in the Pacific, such as Fiji, Tonga, Guam, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Vanuatu.

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