One Year in Office On June 8th, 2014 I turned one year old as a bishop. I still feel very much like an ordinary person. I am so engaged in my ministry that most of the time I do not even think about being the bishop. I am excited and passionate about my work and appreciative of the support of my brother priests especially the senior ones. However, now and then I fill shivers up my spine when I think about being bishop. I was not a keen Canon Law student in my seminary studies. However, since my Episcopal appointment I have come to appreciate the contribution of Canon Law in my ministry. Canon Law prescribes well the job description of a bishop. The Catholic Church’s tradition, experience and wisdom have provided the Church a rich resource for Episcopal ministry. Hence, much of what I am doing is merely implementing the Canon Law’s directives for Episcopal ministry. After one year of ministry I am more convinced of the theological and pastoral relevancy of my Episcopal motto: “To be Church in the World.” My vision for Church is guided by the Second Vatican Council’ vision of Church and my doctoral studies especially in the area of contextual theology. Contextual theology attempts to understand the Christian faith in terms of a particular context. Contextual theology argues that the socio-cultural context and human experience are to be considered along with scripture and tradition, as valid sources for theological expression. Contextual theology takes peoples’ situations, questions, problems, and issues as the starting point of theological reflection and pastoral planning. This means that Church and theology do not exist in a vacuum but rather in a particular social, cultural, economic, and political context. Contextual theology is the very centre of what it means to do theology in today’s world. Contextualization, in other words, is a theological imperative. Theology must be contextual. I am happy with the developments taking place in the Archdiocese of Suva. The Pastoral Management Workshop held in January is helping our parish priests be missionary oriented and pastorally strategic. I have re-established the Council of Priests and the Finance Council according to Canon Law. Under the guidance of the Finance Council I appointed our Finance Officer and Property Officer. Both are new positions in the Curia and they will serve the administration of our monetary and physical assets. Currently, the Council of Priests is working on establishing the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC). The APC mandated by Canon Law will be responsible for pastoral planning in the Archdiocese. We are also in the process of establishing Archdiocesan Commissions (Evangelization, Communications, Catechetical, Justice and Development, Liturgy, Youth and Family) that will be responsible for pastoral developments in the Archdiocese. We have a team currently setting up Small Christian Communities. Small Christian Communities aims to transform our parishes and communities to be centered on the Word of God and to be mission oriented. With the approval of the Council of Priests I will call the second Archdiocese Synod around 2016. The Synod will review the vision and mission of the Archdiocese and discern the future direction of the Catholic Church in Fiji. Catholics make up only about 8% of Fiji’s population. We therefore need to work in collaboration with other churches, religions, NGOs, and government in building God’s kingdom. Hence I am committed to working with these other groups and see this as an effort towards globalizing our mission. I thank the Late Archbishop Petero Mataca for his 38 years of Episcopal ministry and leading the Church till 2013. He has faced his own waves prophetically and courageously and now it’s our turn. Let us be reminded of St Pope John XXIII’s night prayer: “I’ve done the best I could in your service this day, Oh Lord. I’m going to bed. It’s your church. Take care of it!” Yours sincerely Archbishop Peter Loy Chong (Source: FIJI CATHOLIC TIMES 24/8/14) Photo credit Netani Rika
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 07:09:00 +0000
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