In preparation for the General Assembly of the Federation of Catholics’ Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) in February 2023, a Preparatory Event entitled Our Ocean Home will be held online on 28 to 30 November 2022, together with the Australian Catholic University (ACU) and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
The style and format of Our Ocean Home are framed by processes of storytelling, reflection, and theological dialogue, akin to cultural experiences of Talanoa or yarning circle style conversations. As described by Dr Seu’ula Johansson-Fua, an educational researcher from Tonga, in her paper Kakala Research Framework: A Garland in Celebration of a Decade of Rethinking Education, “Talanoa is a generic term referring to a conversation, chat, sharing of ideas and talking with someone. It is a term that is shared by Tongans, Samoans, and Fijians. Talanoa can be formal, as between chiefs and his or her people, and it can be informal, as between friends in a kava circle. Talanoa is also used for different purposes; to teach a skill, to share ideas, to preach, to resolve problems, to build and maintain relationships, and to gather information.”
Invitations to the Preparatory Event are being sent to the Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Bishops’ Conferences of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, and the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (Conferentia Episcopalis Pacifici or CEPAC). Consecrated and lay women and men, young people, ecumenical networks, and ecclesial regional networks are all welcome to join in the spirit of synodal action.
The FCBCO General Assembly will be held at the Archdiocese of Suva in Fiji from 5 to 10 February 2023 with Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will be the chief guest and presiding at the opening Eucharist on 5 February and will deliver the opening address.
To register attendance to the FCBCO Preparatory Event: Our Ocean Home, please click here and enter the participant’s name and email address to receive the link to participate. More information can be found in the ACU website.