MESSAGE FROM BISHOP AMANDO SAMO, D.D
Welcome
to the official website for the Diocese of the Caroline Islands in celebration
of the 25th anniversary of our Diocese. We welcome you with open hearts
and in the island spirit. As we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of our
fledgling diocese, we are very grateful for the gift of Faith and the
gift of Church which the missionaries have brought to us. We can never
be grateful enough to them for this. But it is not enough for us simply
to receive what they have. We have received it and made it our own.
We have become the owners of our Faith and our Church. We must assume
the responsibility for the care of our Church of our Faith and its growth.
The church where that Faith comes alive must be truly Micronesian, truly
ours. It is not merely a matter of language and symbols important as
they are. It will also demand that we, the local Christians, take part
in the planning, the decision-making, the articulation of values, the
moral judgment of our living the Gospel according to our culture.
Now we see signs of the Lord walking along with us,
we see the growth of more vocations to the priesthood and the religious
life. In the late 70s, there were only two diocesan priests, two Jesuit
priests and two brothers from these islands. Today, we have 12 Diocesan
and six Jesuit Priests, although two have passed away in the previous
years. There are more young women have joined the different religious
orders, like the Mercederians, Religious Sisters of Mercy, Marie Auxiliatrice,
School Sisters of the Notre Dame, Carmelite Sisters and the Benedictine
Sisters. These are signs of the time in the Pacific, and particularly
in the Diocese of the Caroline Islands.
Almost all the parishes in the Diocese are manned
by islanders: Diocesan Priests, Deacons and Religious. We are proud
to pray for our seminarians in various stages of their training in Fiji
and the California. The parishes have their parish councils, the forums
through which the laity exercises it=s role in the decision making,
policy making and planning in the deepening of the faith of the Christian
Communities in this Diocese.
On this Silver Anniversary of our Diocese, we take
a bold step in venturing into the establishment of the Caroline Pastoral
Institute. This Pastoral Institute has three divisions: To prepare candidates
for the seminary, to train the laity in ministries relating to their
faith and roles as leaders in their respective communities, and to prepare
missionaries, lay people who would be sent out to preach the Good News
outside of their own parishes, Vicariates and Diocese. These are some
of the many signs of the Lord walking along with us into the dawn to
dream with confidence and to look back with gratefulness to the missionaries
who have planted the seed for today and for us to reap the fruits of
their sacrifices, sweat and blood.
I feel as Bishop I must work hard at helping the laity,
to become involved, to feel responsible for our Church, its apostolic
planning, its supply of personnel, its funding. The local support to
the Church in Micronesia today has increased a great deal from the previous
years when we depended so much on the financial support from abroad.
Many thanks to you all. Our challenge is to make this, our Church, grow
into full maturity after the these 25 years. To encourage our youth
to answer the call to the priesthood and religious life. We also reach
out to our friends in the global society to work with us on different
levels of our ministries. I express my gratitude to my predecessor,
Most Rev. Martin J. Neylon, S.J., D.D, and all the missionaries who
have established the foundation of our Diocese today.
May the Lord continue to guide us.
In Christ,
Bishop Amando Samo, D.D.
