And he is hoping that churches will stand together in this fight.

The bishop wrote to Governor Lolo last week offering the support of the Catholic Church for recent initiatives reported in the media to address "a growing critical illicit drug problem in our community which is especially affecting our youth."

The bishop referred to a task force that the government is establishing to formulate strategies to remove drugs in the territory.

He told Governor Lolo, "As an organization deeply involved in the spiritual and community care of people in American Samoa we are fully supportive of this initiative taken by the Government."

"Also with 18 parishes and five schools on Island we are very much aware of the proliferation of illicit drugs available to our young people today."

Brown wrote, "By this letter, I wish to offer any assistance to the Task Force that we can provide or maybe of use in establishing a meaningful response to this important community issue in American Samoa.

Earlier this month American Samoa's Homeland Security director, Samana Semo Ve'ave'a, called for the community to join together to eliminate a drug problem in the territory.

A taskforce in American Samoa is working more closely with communities to combat the growing use of illegal drugs.

RNZ's correspondent Fili Sagapolutele said crystal meth is such a commonly used drug now that the taskforce was created to formulate strategies to curb the use of illicit drugs and narcotics.

"They are working with the community and they've started to conduct outreach, working with government officials and village leaders, just in the hope to get this drug problem down."

Source

• talanei.com
• radionz.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: fleetowner.com

National Office for Professional Standards director Bill Kilgallon and the Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith's promoter of justice Msgr Robert Oliver visited American Samoa in July.

Accompanied by clinical psychologist Carolyn Cavana, they were there at the invitation of Bishop Peter Brown of Samoa-Pago Pago.

The Pacific Islands bishops' conference (CEPAC) are "just at the stage where they have introduced policies and procedures", Mr Kilgallon said.

The New Zealand office was asked to help train people responsible for running the procedures in American Samoa and Bishop Brown invited other dioceses to send people.

The training had representatives from American Samoa, Samoa, Tahiti, and Fiji.

"First of all we had a day with all the priests, deacons, catechists and some of the teachers in American Samoa, about 100 people, talking about boundaries, healthy boundaries in relationships and about the new procedures," Mr Kilgallon said.

"Then we had four days with people who will actually be doing this."

Mr Kilgallon said the interaction "was a great opportunity for us to share what we have learned so far, but also to see the issues from a different perspective".

"So it was a good learning for us, because obviously in New Zealand, we have got lots of communities from the islands."

Mr Kilgallon was impressed by the people who will be working in this area in the Pacific dioceses -people with senior government experience, judges, lawyers, police, a psychologist.

He said the New Zealand church will continue to liaise with their Pacific counterparts.

"And I hope that we will be able to assist them, because obviously the populations in some of the islands are quite small, and they will need to borrow expertise from different people and share some of those resources."

Noting the cultural and legislative differences across the Pacific, Mr Kilgallon said it was good Msgr Oliver could reflect some of this back to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Mr Kilgallon said he worked with Msgr Oliver at the recent Anglophone conference in Rome and invited him to visit New Zealand and the Pacific.

Source

• National Office for Professional Standards (NZ)
• Image: Samoa News