Diocese of Gizo in the Solomon Islands
2005 in review

Gizo First Communicants

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The most memorable event this year was the meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, a person who is quietly impressive and gave me much hope for the future of the Church with him at the helm. That is a personal reaction during a brief ten minute meeting. It made the long and tiring trip to Rome worthwhile.

The other events are of more recent times. First the Diocese of Gizo was able to come together for its first Diocesan Pastoral Assembly held at Nila in the Shortland Islands where the first Marist Missionaries arrived just over a hundred years ago and where our own Dominican missionaries set foot exactly 50 years ago. We were very conscious of how these earlier men and women would have been delighted to see how the seed they sowed has grown to maturity and produced much fruit.

Part of that fruit was the Ordination to the Priesthood of Father Laurence Kimaere, the latest local Dominican to be ordained. That was just last Saturday! The celebrations that his people, I-Kiribati migrants here now over 40 years, had arranged for the occasion were truly magnificent with the focus on their own unique traditional dance and song in the Liturgy and feasting and dancing in the Maneaba (Meeting House).





Here is one group making the trek from Gizo to Nila for the Assembly.

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Notes from the Assembly:

Greetings from Gizo/Nila and the Assembly. We, all the delegates about 70 all told, arrived back here middayish. Solair was willing and the canoes found a really oily calm sea.

The success of the Assembly was really fantastic! The spirit of all participants was amazing and we were all deeply moved by the experience by the time of the final closing Mass. It went beyond my expectations in the way all joined in. Only once did I lose my cool when one of the original 1997 members of the Renewal asked why the sisters did not wear veils! Some others felt the same way but I did not wish to open old wounds and closed any further discussions. Then Father Michael Fallon and Sr Maria Tom' cool reappraisal prevailed, and they explained why but without discussion. That seemed to mollify those stuck in the past.

But the great moment for me was the acceptance of the Hey Dad Program as the means of assisting the 'dads' with their family problems. I enclose a photo. The whole question of marriage was perhaps accepted as the most pressing problem and the programs working in some places will now become more prominent.

It was interesting listening to men especially and women voice their concerns about marriage breakdown - partnering - and HIV/AIDS and reaching consensus that more and better preparation was needed and that the DOG had already programs in place. I made me realise that even the priests were not following up the workshops as promised, and my own lack of energy to make sure they and others did! Lack of adequate communication between groups was another obvious area calling for improvement.

Youth of course also featured strongly, though I was a little disappointed at the quality of some of the reps. But others helped and in the end they made a good impression.

Bishop Bernard

One of the major recommendations

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The Assembly Participants

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Vanga Teacher College Graduates- 2005

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