The head of the Catholic Church in American Samoa has urged his brother bishops to reflect on their place in the church as a week-long conference for the Catholic Bishops of Oceania concluded in Fiji last Friday.

The bishops concluded their week-long meeting with a special mass, according to an article published in Catholic News, with those in attendance encouraged to respond to the hopes and challenges they shared with hearts of mission and service.

Bishop Peter Brown of the Samoa–Pago Pago Diocese used the occasion to appeal to his bishop brothers – who during the conference focused on God's creation – to reflect on their place in the church. 

He said a fellow bishop recently shared the story of someone whose land and life were being threatened by rising sea levels and pleaded with the bishop to help. 

Such stories of urgency, according to Bishop Brown, should invoke the bishops to act on behalf of their people “to help people to find a place to stand”.

“May we go from here with hope that, through our leadership together with the People of God, we can find room for all – a place where they can stand,” he said.

“We return to our homes, I hope, with a little more unease than when we arrived. It’s a good sign. You have been moved and challenged. That unease is an open door for the Lord to work through us.” 

A key task of the assembly was to review and approve Oceania’s response to the Working Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod for a Synodal Church. 

The bishops were pleased that, “guided by the voices of the People of God in Oceania, we progressed the work already undertaken to ensure a distinctively Oceanic voice will continue to resonate through the Synod documents”. 

Dozens of bishops attended the quadrennial assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania in Fiji, which concluded last Friday evening. The gathering attracted bishops from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and many Pacific nations American Samoa.

That response will be finalised and published in coming weeks. The next assembly of the Federation will be held in Australia in 2027.