Pope Francis is the second pontiff to visit Papua New Guinea, on the second leg of his four-country trip to Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The Pope celebrated the Catholic Church of the peripheries on Sunday by traveling to the remote jungles of Papua New Guineacarrying with him a ton of medicines and toys. Aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 transport plane, Francis met with the local Catholic community and missionaries from his native Argentina.
It is estimated that about 20,000 people gathered in the field in front of the Vanimo cathedral singing and dancing upon the arrival of Francisco, who put on a feather headdress that had been given to him.
Francisco praised Church workers who go out to try to spread the faithbut also urged the faithful to work closer to home to be good to each other and put an end to the tribal rivalries and violence which are a regular part of Papua New Guinea culture.
Pope Francis called for an end to disagreements
He asked to put end to personal, family and tribal divisions that encourage “destructive behaviors such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils that imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters, even in this country.”
Francis was referring to ethnic violence over land disputes that has become more lethal in recent years. In his homily, Francis told the crowd that they may feel distant from both their faith and the institutional Church, but that God was close to them.
“You, who live on this great island in the Pacific Ocean, have sometimes considered yourselves a distant and distant land, located at the ends of the world,” Francis said.. “However, today the Lord wants to get closer to you, break distances, let you know that you are at the center of his heart and that each of you is important to him.”
Distribution of toys and humanitarian aid
After the mass, Francisco boarded the C-130 with a few assistants and his security team. On board was the popemobile golf cart that he used in Vanimo, as well as a ton of humanitarian aidincluding medicines, clothes y children’s toysaccording to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
Francisco has been giving for a long time priority to the Church in the “peripheries”stating that it is actually more important than the center of the institutional Church. In keeping with that philosophy, Francis has largely avoided trips to European capitals, preferring instead distant communities where Catholics are often a minority.
Vanimo, a coastal town of 11,000, is best known as a surf destination. According to Vatican statistics, there are some 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guineafrom a population of about 10 million.
On Saturday, Francis urged Church leaders in Papua New Guinea to pay special attention to people on the margins of society who had been hurt by “prejudice and superstition” after hearing stories of how women were falsely accused of witchcraft and then rejected by their families.
Francisco’s visit to Vanimo was part of the second leg of his tour through four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania. On Monday he will visit East Timor before concluding his trip in Singapore at the end of the week.
