Missionaries of the Sacred

From May 10-13, more than 80 bishops gathered in Camperdown, Australia for the general meeting of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO). In addition to Australia, FCBCO comprises Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island countries in the Pacific. Seven Missionaries of the Sacred Heart attended the meeting: Archbishop John Ribat (Port Moresby, PNG); Bishop Paul Mea Kaiuea (Tarawa, Kiribati); Bishop Rochus Tatamai (Bereina, PNG); Bishop Ambrose Kiapseni (Kavieng, PNG); Archbishop Karl Hesse (Rabaul, PNG); Prefect Apostolic Raymundo Sabio (Marshall Islands); and Bishop Patrick Taval (Kerema, PNG). We are happy to report that Bishop Rochus Tatamai, MSC was elected the Vice-President of the Federation and that Bishop Paul Mea Kaiuea, MSC was re-elected Vice-President of CEPAC (Conference Episcopal of the Pacific). Congratulations Bishop Tatamai and Bishop Kaiuea!

The theme of the meeting was: "Celebrating Word and Sacrament in Oceania."  Some of the talks centered on Apostle Paul as the model for bishops who are challenged to form the local Church into a "People of Thanksgiving".  Another theme was "Preaching and Communication.” According to Prefect Apostolic Raymundo Sabio, MSC, “everyone was smiling” when the resource person, Fr. Richard Leonard, SJ mentioned succinctly that a good homily should not be longer than eight minutes. Although it is short, preparing a good homily is no laughing matter; each minute delivered demands an hour of preparation. The conference also explored the use of modern means of communication for wider evangelization, including social media such as Twitter and Facebook. During the open forum, the name of another MSC was mentioned: Fr. Stephen Cuyos, MSC.  Fr. Cuyos is a MSC from the Philippines, an advocate of open source software and an expert in media and communication. Other talks centered on the Sacraments, such as A Theological Understanding of Celebration in Different Cultural Contexts, Practical Considerations in the Celebration of the Sacraments, Call to Holiness and The Importance of Lectio Divina.

The MSC USA Province helps support the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Papua New Guinea and in the Pacific (MSC Pacific Union). Click the links to learn more about the work of the MSC in these areas. The MSC USA Province is also committed to using social media to promote evangelization, recognizing it as one way in which we are called to live out our motto: May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere! We invite you to visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  You might also be interested in Fr. Cuyos’ blog.