Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand published the report “Towards New Horizons”, with contributions from Caritas agencies in Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Australia.

“Towards New Horizons” tracks the direct impact of five key issues on people in the region: coastal erosion/sea-level rise, access to food and water, extreme weather, offshore mining and drilling and climate finance.

Mr Bernard Holland, the manager of Caritas Australia’s Social and Ecological Justice Animators said, “We need to pay attention to these environmental changes because they have disproportionate impacts on some of the most marginalised communities.”

The report, “Towards New Horizons” is inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, and his call to urgently address the environmental challenges that will affect generations to come.

“In this report, we learn about the impacts of environmental changes on communities like the Carteret Islanders, who have been forced to relocate to the mainland in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in Papua New Guinea,” says Mr Holland.

“Hearing these stories is vital to understanding how severe these environmental changes already are for some communities. This isn’t a distant problem; it’s something that’s happening right now.”
“Towards New Horizons” also looks at how a changing climate disproportionately impacts Indigenous communities, including First Australians communities.

Tom Powell through the Red Dust Healing, an indigenous cultural healing programme supported by Caritas Australia, provided mental health support to local Indigenous communities who had lost incomes and sacred sites as a result of the Australian bush fires.

“Some people were evacuated four, and sometimes five, times down the South Coast because of the bushfires,” says Mr Powell. “Before that there was a drought, and after there was a pandemic. People are exhausted; they feel as if their lives are not in their control.”

The Red Dust Healing program focuses on empowering participants to be a part of their own solution by restoring family structures and reconnecting participants to traditional ways of healing.

You can read the full report at
www.caritas.org.au/docs/default-source/oceania/towards-new-horizons_sefo2020.pdf

As mentioned in the introduction, the report provides further impetus for action on ecological justice. Should you feel motivated to do so, you are invited to join our Sandhurst Care for Creation network.

Sandhurst Diocesan Coordinator:
Kerry Stone : 0408 579904 
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