Wellington to host Forum for 30 delegates from 11 pacific countries

Thursday, September 27th, 2018

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is hosting this year’s Caritas Oceania Forum in Wellington next month, on 1-5 October.

This is the first time the Forum has been held in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2011 when it was held in Auckland. It was last held in Wellington in 2006.

The event will attract 30 delegates from at least 11 countries or territories in Oceania, as well as representatives from further afield in the international Caritas network.

Those attending the Forum include Cardinal Soane Patita Mafi from Tonga, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong from Fiji, Bishop Joe Roszynski from Wewak, Papua New Guinea and Bishop of Christchurch Paul Martin.

There will be representatives from Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, American Samoa, New Caledonia and the Caroline Islands in Micronesia.

Michel Roy, Secretary-General of the Caritas Internationalis confederation, will also be attending.

The theme for the Forum is “Let us go together: Me haere tahi tatou,” focusing on three priorities:

Indigenous perspectives on Catholic social teaching
Disaster risk management
Environmental justice.

The Forum will also help prepare for Caritas Oceania’s participation at the Caritas Internationalis General Assembly in Rome next May, 2019.

The fifth Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania Report, “Waters of Life, Oceans of Mercy,” will also be launched at the Forum on St Francis Day, 4 October.

This report, published by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand on behalf of the region, tracks five key environmental issues affecting the lives of Oceania’s peoples:

Coastal erosion/sea level rise
Food and water
Extreme weather
Offshore mining and drilling
Climate finance.

The report puts a human face on how climate change and other environmental issues are affecting people dependent on the oceans, freshwater and healthy sustainable land use for their survival, livelihoods and identity.

Source