Call to identify Pacific as ‘sacred ocean’ in time of crisis

By CathNews New Zealand

November 10th, 2026

Underwater view at Palmyra Atoll near Kiribati (Kydd Pollock/UFSWS/Wikimedia Commons)

In the lead-up to the COP31 climate conference in Türkiye this month, Caritas Oceania called on governments, international leaders and Church communities worldwide to recognise the Pacific as a “sacred ocean” in need of urgent action in response to extreme human and ecological disruption.

The call came in the wake of synodal gatherings and spiritual reflection across the Pacific, culminating in the Caritas Oceania Regional Forum and Synodal Conversation on the Ocean held in Wellington in late October.

Drawing on the first-hand testimonies of frontline islanders, indigenous custodians and community workers, Caritas Oceania proposed a vision that unites the fight against climate vulnerability with a spiritual calling to defend the dignity of both humanity and creation.

“Out in the field, our role is not to dictate or assume control, but to arrive with the humility of listeners,” said Caritas Oceania president Cardinal Soane Mafi.

“When we stand with the smallest and most vulnerable, we encounter the very face of Christ in our broken and grieving communities. Their pain, culture and survival must guide every humanitarian and ecological decision.”

The Caritas Oceania call comes out of years of listening and journeying with the poor in Oceania, as the regional network of seven Catholic agencies continues to live out the mandate and challenge laid down for them as expressed by St John Paul II in Ecclesia in Oceania, in which it was noted that the health of the Pacific and other oceans “is crucial for the welfare of peoples not only in Oceania but in every part of the world”.

“Our ocean today is being crucified,” said Mena Antonio, Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand chief executive and vice-president of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation.

“Twenty-five years on from Ecclesia in Oceania, our reflection today leads us to urge humanitarian organisations and civil society to move away from top-down aid and paternalistic models. Pastoral action must begin by listening to the lived reality of those on the frontline – communities enduring coastal salinisation, rising tides, sudden illness and the trauma of recurring cyclones.”

Caritas Oceania called for bold, innovative approaches to environmental justice, such as formal “consecration” of the Pacific Ocean and exploring the concept of legal personhood for the Pacific Ocean under a rights-of-nature framework, as has happened in other locations.

Caritas Oceania is also seeking a Synod on the Ocean, grounded in Laudato Si’, the 2015 encyclical from Pope Francis.

FULL STORY

Our sacred ocean cries out for bold action (Caritas Oceania)