Dear Friends,

As this edition of In the Word reaches you, my thoughts and prayers are with the Oceania Delegation of the Laudato Si Movement whose members are attending the United Nations Oceans Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Having recently been nominated to join the new Laudato Si Oceania Regional Council, and, of course, being a Pacific Islander myself and knowing the impact of the climate on our Pacific region and the world at large, I’m praying for those gathered in Lisbon who will give voice to the ocean and its needs.

 In doing so, it will also give voice to the cry of the poor – something Pope Francis has called us to do in his Laudato Si’ document and many times since.

Our survival depends on practical steps being made to address the toll of climate change on the world’s oceans. Obviously, for the people living on the small islands of the Pacific, climate change is a present and direct threat to their lives, as it affects not only their land itself, but also food supply, fresh water supply and so much more. It’s not about politics and ideology for our Pacific neighbours. It’s about their immediate survival. The impacts of climate change on Australia and New Zealand, and indeed, the whole world are also growing. Let’s face it, the health of the world’s oceans affects us all.

Our faith-based Oceania Delegation of the Laudato Si Movement will be giving voice to the Indigenous experience of climate change, raising awareness of the effects of over-fishing, white sand ocean mining and the importance of the Blue Economy to Indigenous peoples – that is, understanding just how much Indigenous peoples rely on the ocean as the main source of their income and do so sustainably, as they’ve done in some cases for tens of thousands of years.

Our delegates will also be requesting that the international community contribute to a fund set up by the UN’s COP26 meeting to tackle climate change at the grass roots by funding activities like planting mangroves along shorelines and having sanctuaries to protect fish stocks.

I would love to have attended the Lisbon conference myself to support our delegates, but my role as a Member of next week’s Plenary Council in Australia, along with other duties, has kept me here in Australia. I invite you to journey with us in prayer and solidarity as we help give ongoing life to the Pope Francis’ vision for Laudato Si’, a vision where we take concrete steps to care for our common home.

Yours in the Word,

Fr Asaeli Rass SVD,
Provincial.