A total of 63 catholic priests and religious with their 3 bishops met at Vanga RTC facility to renewed their experience of God and the commitment of their vows to Him and to that portion of His people entrusted to their pastoral care. Two Marianists religious from USA animated and facilitated the encounter, the first of its kind in the history of the Catholic Church in Solomon Islands.
The experience coincided with the golden Jubilee celebrations of the Catholic Church in the Gizo Diocese and the golden jubilee of the ordination of its first Bishop (Bishop Eusebius Crawford, OP) in Rome, in May 1960. The program which consisted in biblical, Marian and spirituality inputs, reflections and sharing among the participants provided a unique occasion for sharing one’s faith, experiencing brotherhood and fraternal support, and renewing one’s personal commitment to the priestly identity and service. In a time when priesthood has been attacked and undermined by mistakes of some of its members around the world, it was great to see the renewal of the commitment to be priests’ according to the heart of the good shepherd in communion with the universal catholic church built on Peter’s rock.
The commitment took place at the celebration of Solemnity of Saint Peter, the patron saint of the Gizo cathedral. Each of the bishops and priests renewed their fidelity to Christ and their priesthood. This was done meaningfully by each one touching the cross and the bible in prayerful silence in front of the assembly before the final blessing in saint peter’s renewed Cathedral.
The Gizo priests remained for a three days further meeting which saw them busy in identifying the specific gifts God has shared with Gizo Diocese in the past 50 years. Having identified the uniqueness of these gifts, the Gizo diocese Priests wrote and signed their commitment to keep these gifts dynamically alive and growing at the service of the people of God.
Here is what they have identified as the chore values of the Priestly giftedness received to which they must give DYNAMIC witness
THE PRESBYTERIUM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF GIZO
WHAT ISPIRED US IN THE PRIESTS OF THE DIOCESE FOR THE PAST 5O YEARS
Their spirit of prayer and devotion: priests got up early, used their kerosene lamps and prayed together with the sisters and their pastoral workers
Their presence among the people of God as often as possible They would spend time with them They listened to them as they shared their story They sharing with them
They accompanied them in the journey of faith Attended to the sacraments and preaching Prepared their leaders Inspired us to be priests
They showed Interest and commitment in loving and serving the people They showed a great spirit of dedication to the mission They showed a great spirit of sacrifice They showed a great spirit of adaptability
They loved our vocations They inspired us as altar boys They gave a direct proposal to us to join in the priesthood They showed us good examples at all time
We the priests’ council of the diocese of Gizo Draw our inspiration for the dynamic renewal of our priesthood At the conclusion of the year of the priest After our renewal program at Vanga with the other priests from CCSI As we celebrate the golden Jubilee of our Diocese In fidelity to the gifts of God to our diocese in the first missionaries priests we draw the VISION MISSION STATEMENT we approve today we commit ourselves to live by these guide lines and inspirations
VISION MISSION AND COMMITMENT STATEMENT
of the presbyterium of the catholic church of Gizo
We the presbyterium of the Diocese of Gizo are alive in Christ We commit ourselves to witness the love of God to our people By imitating Christ the Good shepherd In dynamic fidelity to our founding missionary priests
To achieve this we commit ourselves: 1. To Inspire our people by being prayerful priests and praying with them 2. To make all efforts to visit and be present to our people, to listen to them as a servants leaders and brothers 3. To plan and accompany them in the implementation of the pastoral plans as planned and proposed by the DTPA and PTPA 4. To be a living inspiration to priestly vocations by our life and examples 5. To make all efforts possible to foster, propose the call and accompany the candidates in their vocation journey
This be our commitment for a renewed church and a Better world
Bishop Luciano Capelli, SDB Fr. Simon Suvenava, OP Noro SubParish
Fr. Callisto Tavisibatu, OP Fr. Eduard Siguenza, Fr Peter Lalaiagalu, OP Nila Parish Kavata Parish, Sirovanga
Fr Jacop Qetobachu, Stephen Kamoa, OP Moli Parish Gizo Parish
Fr. Gabriel M. Rev. Bro. Stephen, Te’e Waghina Parish Nila Parish
POLICIES FOR VOCATION RECRUTMENT IN THE GIZO DIOCESE CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF A VOCATION IN THE GIZO DIOCESE
1. The candidate to the priesthood in the Gizo diocese must show these signs and fit in these criteria to qualify as Diocesan Priestly Vocation Candidate. 2. Every member of the church is responsible to search and see these signs in the possible candidates. 3. Everyone in the church must be a vocation recruiter
The candidate must show these signs of priestly vocation
1. Must be physically healthy and psychologically and emotionally balanced 2. Must come from a good catholic family (exceptions to this need Bishop’s permission) 3. Must be Hard working at home, helping the family in the day to day survival work: fishing, gardening, house maintenance and cleaning 4. Must show Pastoral initiative: helping in the village pastoral programs, must love being and working with the people 5. Must be present and active during liturgical experiences 6. Must be present and interested in the village prayer activities 7. Must keep regularly in touch with the parish priest and the Vocation Director, while living and working in the village 8. Must attend the come and see programs and other programs prepared by the vocation director 9. Must be recommended by the catechists and parish leaders, be endorsed by the parish priest to the vocation director and presented to the bishop for final approval 10. Must comply with all requirements and documents for the pre-seminary program at NAC 11. Must be a form six graduate. 12. In case a candidate is not FORM SIX GRADUATE: • The candidate must go through the same procedure as everyone else • The selected candidates only will be recommended to Saint John Bosco Senior Secondary School at Nila to finish Form 4,5,6. • During their schooling in Nila they must show the same signs of vocation and they must have a spiritual director and keep in close touch with the vocation director and parish priest
Procedure to be followed in the Gizo Diocese in vocation identification, recruitment and accompaniment:
Everyone who loves the church is by baptism a vocation recruiter The appointed Vocation Director of the Diocese is Fr. Jacob Quetobatu. Fr. Jacob Quetobatu’s role is:
1. Coordinating all efforts of all parish priests, parish leaders and catholic of good will, in
2. Identifying together with them of the signs of a priestly diocesan vocation and Leading the selection process of those candidates giving signs of Vocation and in
3. Organizing the Come and see programs
4. Making the explicit vocation proposal to qualifying candidates
5. Accompanying the candidates together with parish priests and leaders through personal contact with them individually and group encounters
Diocesan Policies on Vocations
1. The selected candidates stay home with their parents and work hard in the garden, 2. The selected candidates cooperate with their home catechists and parish leaders in the pastoral programs of the parish, 3. They will keep regular contacts with the parish priests and have spiritual direction 4. The selected candidates will have to shoulder their trip to the seminary and the costs of the documents needed (including complete medical certificate) 5. Their daily needs will be shouldered by their parents 6. The dioceses asks the help of the parishes in paying the school fee and board and lodging of their priest candidate 7. The diocese will help in their trip back home at the end of the school year 8. The Seminarians will spend one month in Gizo with a pastoral program which will consist of moments of prayer, inputs, hard work and sacrifice to verify their motivations and suitability to be priests in the diocese
May we all love the Church and work hard for vocations, they are the future of our church. We cannot assume God is calling people only from Honiara and Auki… we do not have only a history to tell, we have a history to build… Let’s do it now, together
There is a story of a Blind man and a paralyzed man wanting to cross the river on a log which fell across its banks. Both of them were not able to pass through: one could not walk and the other could not see. Then they found a solution: let’s unite ourstrengths: I have strong legs said the blind man and I have good eyes said the paralyzed man. I will be your eyes and you will be my legs… and both of them crossed the river the blind man carrying the paralyzed man on his shoulders.
Antidote to ‘Global ethics’, a new radical option to follow Christ
The challenge of the NILA spiritual youth rally. The event’s Theme “You will receive power from the Holy Spirit and you will be my witnesses” 361 young people (16-25) from the Gizo diocese parishes from Gizo, Noro, Ringi, Nusabaruku, Titiana, Canaan, Sirovanga (as far as Tambarato), Moli, Fauro, and Shortlands have come together for a renewal program, as a follow up of the World youth day in Sydney last August.
For one whole week the youth have reflected on input about the topics first in their “days in the parish” and then together at Nila.
The month of October has been a very special month full of graces from above...
Grace Number 1:
The grace of a better presbyterium
The retreat of the Priests (7 of them working in the diocese and two guests from Auki Diocese) has been a very enriching renewal experience. The reflection and meditation on God's work focused on the topic "what kind of Priest for what kind of church" I am confident in saying that we understood that we must work as a Team, God's team at the service of His mission in OUR diocese. We have decided to stop using the expression "MY PARISH" and to start using "OUR DIOCESE". Yes we have felt that the church we are called to build is indeed "Ours" and we intend to build a ‘communion of communities'. To do this it is a must that all of us priests build a united ‘presbyterium'. We also took the decision to divide ourselves into Two groups or ‘deaneries': Shortlands, Moli, Kavata and deanery number two: Waghina. Gizo, Noro. The two groups of priest will meet more regularly and try to be a support system to each other. As a Bishop I felt very much the grace working in the retreats at least in two clear occasions: a reconciliatory move from one parish priest and his community leaders, and the availability of another priest to take a different post. I was most touched too by the efforts of the Dominican Order to hold on to their responsibility in the Gizo Diocese: thanks for Fr Callisto's presence in Kavata, thanks for Fr Laurence who is due to come back and work in the diocese soon, best wishes and prayers to Fr John Tiroko who hopefully will join us again. We do Hope Fr. Stephen will join us too. In response to the public demands I have asked other bishops for 6 more priests to join the present ones so we can better serve our people. Some bishops said they cannot help. Others said, not this year, others promised to help. A million thanks to Fr. John Mc Kenna for practically spending his whole priestly life in the diocese... We will never forget you...
The challenge of the Christmas celebrations is not that of remembering what happened 2000 years ago in Bethlehem... but that of making that reality present here today by allowing Christ to be born again in our hearts, family and communities.
To become present and alive, to become part of the life of those who live next to us, of those who are alone, and to become for them a sign that God is alive, he was born and he is here for them, though us.
These are two deep mysteries of Christmas: Humility and generosity
God is with Us, Emmanuel, a mystery of incomprehensible Humility (He is God and born as a man)
He is here for you and me and for everyone: a Mystery of generosity (he is born to serve you through me and others through us)
From the Bishop 
