The Pacific, one-third of the planet’s surface, is the largest climate determinant on Earth. Asia and Oceania share a common image in the ‘River Above’– the Pacific Ocean is the life, the river of Asia feeding all rivers, seasons and lives. The surface area and ocean currents absorb energy and generate thermals and other air flows, forming the weather patterns and events while sustaining their movement westward. This flow is life-giving and life-taking, especially as the climate is changing and resources are being exhausted. The welfare of the lands and peoples is bound to the welfare of the seas.
RAOEN seeks to serve the dialogue of integral living so that broader collaboration is possible and breadth and integrity of the ecology and territory are maintained. The Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) accompanies 16 small island states in Oceania, as well as Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) is on the ground in six countries spanning the Mekong River Basin, five countries in the Himalayas including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, four countries covering the Sundaland, and the island nations of Japan, Korea and Philippines (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines). The network proposes four ways by which we can come together as people and as Church: Dialogue, Discernment, Deeds, Desires.
Voices of conscience. As Church we are challenged to listen from the ground up and build bridges with all faiths to respond to the concerns of indigenous and vulnerable communities across the region in the context of growing disasters, the need to build back better and reduce all forms of vulnerability.
