2002 Oceania Bishops Conference

Oceania bishops say mass at Rakunai

 

By Patrick Matbob

It is not every day that 79 bishops and a cardinal turn up to say mass in a local parish. When they do it calls for a special celebration, one to be long remembered.

For Rakunai parish in East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, it was indeed a memorable occasion in May this year when a contingent of Oceania bishops visited the home of Blessed Peter ToRot, the first martyr of the Pacific.

79 bishops pack the Rakunai church.

The bishops from all the Pacific islands as well as Australia and New Zealand gathered for a conference at Vunapope Catholic mission in East New Britain. The conference is held once every four years to address issues affecting the Catholic Church in Oceania.

The meeting was also to address a document Ecclessia in Oceania, which was drawn up by the Pope and the bishops of Oceania four years ago in Rome. Based on the theme “Teaching His Truth, Walking His Way and Living His Life” the bishops were reviewing contents of the document and how it could be distributed and implemented within the dioceses in Oceania.

This was the first time for the meeting to be held in a Pacific Island country outside of Australia and New Zealand.

More than 10,000 people packed the grounds of the church dedicated to the saint to celebrate mass. The sight of so many bishops was overwhelming for many of the faithful.

“I was aware that they were coming. I was prepared but I did not expect such a large number,” said Sr Boniface Mai, a teacher at Rakunai Parish. She was visibly moved by the occasion.

“I felt the presence of Jesus. This feeling has strengthened my faith,’ she said.

Main celebrant Cardinal Thomas Williams from New Zealand was awed by the experience. He said there was only one place where he has seen so many people at a mass and that was at St Peter’s square in Rome.

He told the people that they were fortunate to have Blessed Peter ToRot as a martyr.

“We don’t have a martyr yet in New Zealand.

“It is your faith that has produced a martyr,” he said.

The grand nephew of the martyr, Fr Rochus Tatamai, shared with the bishops the story of saint who was his grandfather’s younger brother.

Blessed Peter ToRot was a catechist at Rakunai Parish when the Japanese invaded Rabaul during World War II. They imprisoned all expatriate missionaries and ToRot took on the responsibility of carrying out the pastoral duties. He did it with such zeal and dedication that the Japanese imprisoned and later murdered him. He had frustrated their plans to set up a brothel and to allow polygamous relationships amongst the local people.

At the celebrations were Peter ToRot’s daughter Rufina La Mama and a prison mate who had witnessed ToRot’s martyrdom.

The celebration began with the arrival of the bishops to a traditional dukduk (masked dancers) welcome and a mock war dance. The mass was celebrated in the church crammed with people while thousands more packed the grounds outside. Three choir groups set the mood for the occasion with an inspiring blend of harmonies. Their repertoire included a Latin mass taught by pioneer missionaries.

Local bishop at Rakunai, Bishop Alphonse Chaupa said according to history the Catholic faith came to Rakunai because the village chiefs had invited a pioneer missionary priest to their village. The chiefs chose him rather then the Methodist missionaries who had been there years earlier because they wanted to learn the words to a powerful magic charm he possessed. The charm was the Latin Gloria.

 “God works in mysterious ways.” he said.

After the mass the bishops met the people over lunch despite a persisting tropical downpour and were touched by the friendliness and welcome they received.

Said one bishop: “I’ve never shaken so many hands in my life.”

Attending the conference was the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, Cardinal Jan Schotte. The cardinal’s visit was timely when Papua New Guineans were debating the question of priests’ role in politics. Five priests contested the national elections and at least two did so without the permission of their bishops.

The cardinal was forthright on the issue. Politics is the vocation of the laity and not priests, he said when addressing seminarians in Rabaul.

He said it was the vocation of the laity to work for the betterment of the temporal society and no bishops or priests can take their place.

East New Britain has gone through years of hardship since the 1994 twin volcanic eruptions that destroyed Rabaul town and outlying areas. The disaster denied the province a visit from the Holy Father for the beatification of Blessed Peter ToRot in 1995. The beatification was held in Port Moresby.

Yet the suffering seems only to have strengthened the faith of people who demonstrated it during the four-day visit of the Oceania bishops.

Thousands of people turned up each evening to share their faith and culture and the continuous rain and thunderstorms did little to dampen their spirit.

“It is the biggest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Regina Munsi a teacher at Rakunai.

“I can not express the joy in my heart.”

The bishops will draw a lot from their experience of Rabaul. They had witnessed the faith of a people in Oceania, a faith firmly rooted and nourished by the blood of their martyr.