1 week Ago By Lawrence Fong
POPE Francis will fly off in an Air Niugini plane today for Timor Leste after three days of solemn, deeply respectful and joyful engagements with Papua New Guineans from all walks of life in Port Moresby and Vanimo. Many in the country, including leaders, saw the Pope’s visit as very timely, given the challenging times that the country is going through. In Port Moresby, he celebrated mass with about 50,000 people, urging them to open their hearts to the word of God, and showing love to others.
He also strongly appealed for an end to violence and for peace in PNG, the Pacific, the region and the world. “From this land blessed by the Creator, I would like to ask, together with you, through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, the gift of peace for all people,” the 87-year-old pontiff said in the conclusion of the mass. “I ask this in particular for this great region of the world, Asia, Oceania and the Pacific Ocean.
“Peace, peace for all nations and also for creation. No to rearmament and exploitation of our common home,” he said, hinting at his mission to save the planet from global warming and climate change, the increasing geopolitical confrontations in the region, and the ongoing wars and conflicts around the world. “Yes to the encounter between peoples and cultures.
Yes to the harmony of men and women with creatures.” Sir John Cardinal Ribat, the most senior Catholic leader in the country, told Pope Francis that his visit was timely. “Your journey to our beloved country Papua New Guinea is timely.
It brings us blessings, peace and encouragement and deepens our faith,” Cardinal Ribat said. “We are very grateful for the Eucharistic celebration that we just celebrated with you. “It unites us with the Church of Rome.
“Thank you sincerely for a wonderful and enriching visit. May our good Lord continue to bless you abundantly, especially with good health, as you continue to carry out your ministry.” In Vanimo yesterday afternoon, the Pope fulfilled his mission of going to the peripheries, to visit the poor and the under-privileged members of society.
He also met with a small group of Argentinian missionaries who have been doing a lot of social and spiritual work with the locals in a village outside of town. This morning in Port Moresby, the Pope will spend some time with the youths, something he is also passionate about. Prime Minister James Marape, who led a big contingent of government leaders to the open mass yesterday, said he will also join the youths to have an audience with the Pope before he flies off.
Marape praised the Catholic Church for its role in developing the country and praised the Catholic population for receiving and engaging with Pope Francis in a peaceful and orderly fashion all throughout the weekend. The Pope is accompanied on this trip by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and other Vatican and Church officials. As he departs, his powerful message of inclusiveness and opening up to the word of God will linger for many days to come as PNG continues to face many social and economic challenges.
“You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world,” he said. “Perhaps, for other reasons, you may also at times have felt distant from God and the Gospel, unable to communicate with him or with each other. “Yet, as he did with the deaf man, today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the centre of his heart and that each one of you is important to him.
“He wants to heal your deafness and muteness.”.
