austraLasia 130

THE SYNOD FOR OCEANIA HAS DISCOVERED A NONCONFORMIST CHURCH

Papal Mass to Close Synod in St. Peter's Basilica

VATICAN CITY, DEC 13 -- According to John Paul II, the Synod for Oceania

should be a meeting to give to "the coming centuries and future generations

the rich patrimony of the evangelization of Oceania," so that "those peoples

participate fully in the love of Christ." On December 12, in the concluding Mass at the end of the assembly, the Holy Father wished to thank the participants of the Synod "for the testimony of communion they have given the Church." As at the inaugural Mass, the Vatican Basilica was resplendent with the colors, songs and traditional dress of the "blue continent."

"You have come from Australia, New Zealand, the Islands of the Pacific,

Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands -- the Pope said as he concelebrated with 17 cardinals, 90 bishops and 70 priests --, bringing the spiritual riches of your peoples, aswell as the problems they are experiencing." The Pontiff referred to the consequences of colonization and immigration, the conditions in which the ethnic minorities live, the problems of youth, the challenges of modernity and of secularism. After three weeks of meetings, the Pope pointed out the areas of particular concern to the Church in Oceania: vocations, justice, peace, the family, ecclesial communion, the sacramental life, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue.

The Holy Father concluded: "For the people of Oceania, Jesus Christ is also

the way to be followed, the truth to be proclaimed and the life to be lived. This is the program of evangelization for the whole world."