By Paul Dobbyn
AUSTRALIAN Missionaries of the Sacred Heart priest Fr Adrian Meaney has returned with a heavy heart from a recent visit to Nauru.
“I was told by one of the citizens of Nauru on my visit that the present (refugee) solution is disastrous, and will ultimately cause great harm to the islanders,” Fr Meaney said.
“From everything I saw, read and heard I must say the keeping of refugees on Nauru is devoid of logic, fairness and compassion.”
The use of immigration detention facilities on Nauru started in September 2001 as part of the Australian Government’s mandatory detention policy.
Fr Meaney said the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart had a long history of ministering to Nauru’s Catholic community.
This ministry has gone on for some 113 years, “except when disturbed by war”, he said.
Fr Meaney said the MSC office for many years had provided Nauru’s Catholic community with finance, religious literature and other resources.
“More recently containers full of items of furniture have arrived to be used by refugees,” he said.
The MSC priest found this ministry alive when he visited the island in December.
“The main purpose of my visit was to inspect projects we have on the island, and to be with my old friend, Bishop Paul Mea MSC,” Fr Meaney said.
“I found the parish priest, Father Simon Kokoria, and his parishioners busily preparing to celebrate Confirmation for 130 of
their parishioners.
“Each Sunday a number of refugees, both those outside the camps and those still inside, attend the Sunday Mass.
“Father Simon, a rather quiet man from Kiribati, also offers Mass inside the camps.
“Normally he has three Masses every Sunday.
“After this particular Sunday Mass, we proceeded to the new class-rooms for the blessing ceremony.
“These classrooms were the result of the parishioners contributing $100,000 to purchase the building, and the MSC Mission Office providing the balance of $257,000.”
While on the island, Fr Meaney also visited refugees “now living outside the camps in their new cramped rooms”.
“Along with Sister Anna Kaburoro OLSH (Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) from Kiribati, we also visited one of the camps with the parish youth group,” he said.
“We sang Christmas carols along with them.
“While in the camp, I spoke to many of the refugees and gave some encouraging words about the Good News of Jesus.
“Many of the refugees we met came from Sri Lanka and French-speaking parts of Africa.”
Fr Meaney said his latest visit to Nauru had raised many troubling questions about the Australian Government’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers and the general acceptance of these policies.
“Ever since I offered Mass for the survivors of the Tampa many years ago, my heart has been distressed and perplexed by the cruel solutions we offer total strangers,” he said.
“Scripture says to welcome the stranger.
“We listen to Pope Francis saying over and over again how we should treat refugees, then we see situations such as Nauru and Manus Island.
“The Australian Church really needs to think a lot more about what’s happening in its own back yard.
“Sometimes there’s too much focus abroad and we forget about places such as Nauru, the Solomons and PNG.”
