Catholic bishops from Oceania meeting in Auckland last week visited the City Mission and served meals to the homeless, the mentally unwell and those suffering economic deprivation.
“This was a humbling experience during which we felt deeply Christ’s call to sit and walk alongside those who struggle or find themselves on the margins of society,” they said in their statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting.
Chris Farrelly, Auckland City Missioner, said it was a “wonderful event having the Bishops at the Mission supporting the work of the Mission in this way.”
“The Auckland City Mission relies on the generosity of such people to provide the food for the daily meals, served 365 days a year,” he said.
The bishops were attending the annual week-long meeting of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania.
Previously the Bishops had visited to De La Salle College in South Auckland. They said the highlight of that visit was the Mass for the entire community. “The boys’ enthusiastic participation in the liturgy uplifted our hearts.”
The Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania is made up of the Bishop’s Conferences in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island nations (CEPAC).
The bishops attending the meeting were:
Archbishop Sir John Cardinal Ribat MSC (President), Archbishop of Port Moresby, PNG.
Bishop Robert McGuckin (Deputy President) Bishop of Toowoomba, Australia.
Archbishop Michel Calvet SM, Archbishop of Noumea, New Caledonia.
Bishop Colin Campbell, Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand.
Bishop Charles Drennan, Bishop of Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, Australia.
There will be a plenary assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania in Port Moresby in April 2019.
The theme will be ‘Care of our Common Home of Oceania: A sea of possibilities’.
Source
Supplied: NZCBC, Auckland City Mission