FCBCO meeting Wellington May 28 to 30

The Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) held an executive meeting in Wellington from Tuesday 28 May to Thursday 30 May.

Matters discussed included the second session of the Synod on Synodality being held in Rome in October, the pastoral care on migrant workers and their families, and Pacific labour mobility.

Reflecting on the meeting, FCBCO President Bishop Anthony Randazzo, the Bishop of Broken Bay (NSW), said it had been a great joy to be gathered together as an Executive, represented so capably from across the four episcopal conferences of Oceania.

“While it might seem straightforward to the untrained eye, the difficulty of completing the simple act of meeting together in one place highlighted the uniqueness of Oceania; it took some of our bishops 18 hours of travel and four separate flights just to be with us. I am incredibly grateful for their commitment and perseverance to make our gathering possible.

“Our time together was grace-filled and deeply enriching. We felt the experience of ‘paddling together’ in the same boat, being awake to, and aware of, the presence of Jesus Christ in the boat that is the universal Church.

“In our listening, we heard the call of the vulnerable in our region, particularly those migrating across the many islands separated by vast bodies of water, in search of work, or to escape the impacts of domestic challenges, such as rising sea levels. How we provide pastoral care for those affected peoples emerged as a core theme in our prayer and reflections, and we will continue our dialogue on this moving forward."

Bishop Randazzo thanked Archbishop of Wellington Paul Martin SM as host and the Wellington Archdiocese for the excellent hospitality and organisation that made the meeting flow so smoothly. Bishop Randazzo also congratulatied Bishop Ryan Jimenez from the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa on the Northern Mariana Islands, who was elected Vice President of the FCBCO, a previously unfilled position.

“I look forward to working with Bishop Ryan and the rest of the Executive as we now take the fruits of these conversations with us to our own nations. Now the work truly begins.”

Attending the three-day meeting were (pictured above clockwise from left) Bishop Randazzo (President FCBCO, Bishop of Broken Bay NSW, wearing glasses); Damian Dempsey (Executive Director NZ Catholic Bishops Conference); Archbishop Paul Martin (Host, Archbishop of Wellington); Bishop Michael Dooley (Bishop of Dunedin); Bishop Justin Ain Soongie (Bishop of Wabag, Papua New Guinea); Father Chris De Souza (General Secretary, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference); Bishop Brian Mascord (Bishop of Wollongong(NSW); Bishop Ryan Jimenez (Bishop of Chalan Kanoa, Northern Mariana Islands); Archbishop Peter Loy Chong (Archbishop of Suva); and Cormac McCaughan (Private Secretary to Bishop Randazzo).

Matters discussed included the second session of the Synod on Synodality being held in Rome this coming October, the pastoral care of migrant workers and their families, and Pacific labour mobility.

A whakatau (welcome ceremony similar to a pōwhiri but less formal) took place at the Archdiocese of Wellington offices in Thorndon Quay on the Tuesday morning before the formal meeting began. The visiting bishop also attended a lunchtime Mass on the Wednesday at St Mary of the Angels in Wellington and an evening Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Te Awakairangi Parish in Lower Hutt, where Bishop Randazzo reminded everyone present of the need to show hospitality to all and to put the needs of others before our own.