The special Synod Assembly

The Theme

8. As a result of the suggestions of the Pre-Synod Council, which sought to register the concerns of the Bishops of Oceania, the theme chosen for the Special Assembly for Oceania was: Jesus Christ and the Peoples of Oceania, Walking His Way, Telling His Truth, Living His Life.The theme is inspired by the words of John's Gospel where Jesus refers to himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life (14:6), and it recalls the invitation which he extends to all the peoples of Oceania: they are invited to meet him, to believe in him, and to proclaim him as the Lord of all. It also reminds the Church in Oceania that she gathers together as the People of God journeying on pilgrimage to the Father. Through the Holy Spirit, the Father calls believers - individually and in community - to walk the way that Jesus walked, to tell all nations the truth that Jesus revealed, to live fully the life that Jesus lived and continues to share with us now.

The theme is particularly appropriate for the Church in Oceania today, for the peoples of the Pacific are struggling for unity and identity; among them there is a concern for peace, justice and the integrity of creation; and many people are searching for life's meaning. Only in accepting Jesus Christ as the Way will the peoples of Oceania find that for which they are now searching and struggling. The way of Christ cannot be walked without an ardent sense of mission; and the core of the Church's mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ as the living Truth - a truth revealed, a truth explained, understood and welcomed in faith, a truth passed on to new generations. The truth of Jesus is always greater than ourselves, greater than our heart, because it flows from the depths of the Blessed Trinity; and it is a truth which demands that the Church respond to the problems and challenges of today. In the light of the Gospel, we discover Jesus as the Life. The life of Christ is offered also as a healing grace that makes it possible for humanity to be what the Creator intended it to be. Living the life of Jesus Christ implies a deep respect for all life. It also implies a living spirituality and authentic morality, strengthened by the word of God in Scripture and celebrated in the Sacraments of the Church. When Christians live the life of Christ with deeper faith, their hope grows stronger and their charity more radiant. That was the goal of the Synod, and it is the goal of the new evangelization to which the Spirit is summoning the whole Church.

The Experience

9. It was fitting that the Synod Assembly began on the Solemnity of Christ the King when the Church celebrates Jesus as the Lord in whom God's Kingdom is established throughout the world and in all of history. During the time of the Assembly, it became increasingly clear that it was Christ who was leading the way, that it was he who reigned in the midst of the Assembly. The opening and closing liturgies incorporated signs and symbols drawn from Pacific island cultures as expressions of faith and reverence. In a unique blend, these ceremonies expressed the unity of faith in diversity of Catholic worship; and they showed quite strikingly how the Catholic faith reaches to the farthest shores of the Great Ocean and that all find their home in the Catholic Church. As a symbolic exchange of gifts, the liturgies expressed the deep communio between the Church of Rome and the local Churches of Oceania. The Bishops brought to the Vatican their rich array of experiences and cultural treasures, and they were in turn strengthened in the bond of local and universal communio, which was for them a great refreshment and encouragement for the future.

The distinctive features of the Church in Oceania made it important to convoke a separate Synod Assembly. The Bishops of Oceania are organized in four Conferences which come together as the Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania (F.C.B.C.O.). The total number of Bishops is relatively small, which allowed the Synod to bring together all the active Bishops, representing all the particular Churches. For many participants it was a real discovery of the religious gifts, the cultures and the histories of the peoples of Oceania. They became more aware of the often hidden or unrecognized graces that the Lord has bestowed on his Church, and this too was a source of great encouragement. The dialogue and discernment of the Synod opened the eyes of heart and soul to discover what can be done to live the Christian faith more fully and effectively. There were many reasons to praise and thank God for treasures discovered or valued anew.

For the Bishops, the Assembly was an experience of brotherhood and communio around the See of Peter. Taking place in the Vatican, it enabled all the participants "to feel at home" with the Bishop of Rome. It also allowed the Bishop of Rome "to feel at home" with them and to hear how much they appreciated this unique experience of the universality of the Church. The sense of unity and fidelity overcame the great distances of geography and culture between Rome and Oceania. This experience was one of the many gifts that Christ in his goodness bestowed during the Synod.

Among themselves too the Bishops experienced a new and stronger sense of identity and communio. Many of them are often separated by great distances, and regular communication is not easy. For the Church as a whole, the diversity of cultures in Oceania is a constant challenge to work for greater unity. The Bishops want to strengthen their communio and help the peoples of Oceania to work together more effectively. The local Churches in this region of the world are a unique part in the universal Church. As such, they realize that they can and must contribute their special gifts to the wider Church. I pray that, through the Synod, the Bishops of Oceania will feel more than ever that they belong together and that, with their local Churches, they belong fully to the universal Church, to which they bring a special enrichment.⁽¹³⁾

It was significant that the Synod Assembly took place in the time of immediate preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The Bull announcing the Jubilee, Incarnationis Mysterium, was promulgated during the time of the Synod, and the Assembly itself was an opportunity for the Church in Oceania to prepare for the gift of the Holy Year. Certainly the Assembly helped the Churches of the Pacific to celebrate the Jubilee with fresh attempts to bring reconciliation and peace, more conscious than ever that "the Church, having received from Christ the power to forgive in his name, is in the world the living presence of the love of God who turns to all human weakness to welcome it with the embrace of his mercy".⁽¹⁴⁾ It would be a wonderful fruit of the Jubilee if the Church in Oceania, strengthened in so many ways by the experience of the Synod, could continue to implement the Jubilee's insights and appeals along the lines suggested in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte. As the Jubilee proclaimed the infinite depths of God's mercy revealed in Christ, so it stirred new energies for the task of meeting the challenges which the Synod identified and discussed.⁽¹⁵⁾ "In his forgiving love a new heaven and a new earth are anticipated":⁽¹⁶⁾ may the vision of the new heaven and the new earth never cease to draw the peoples of Oceania more deeply into this newness of life!