St. Maria Goretti Parish

The stories and experiences of so many different people make up the diverse tapestry that represents Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea.

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DILI, Timor-Leste (CNS) -- The faith that sustained the hope of the people of Timor-Leste in their struggle for independence should be a resource now as the country tries to cope with social, economic and environmental problems, Pope Francis said.

Landing in Dili Sept. 9, the pope was welcomed at the airport by both President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, as well as two children who offered him flowers, customary for when he arrives in a country, but also a "tais" -- a traditional scarf.

Tens of thousands of people, young and old, lined the streets from the airport into the city to see Pope Francis as he rode by in an open popemobile. Many people took shelter from the sun under yellow and white umbrellas featuring the logo of the trip as well as the flags of Timor-Leste and the Vatican.

After an hour's rest at the new, "green" Vatican nunciature, where he was staying, Pope Francis went to the presidential palace, where he received more flowers, another tais and hugs from the three girls chosen to give him the gifts.

Of the four nations the pope was visiting Sept. 2-13, Timor-Leste was the only one with a Catholic majority. According to Vatican statistics, close to 96% of the population is Catholic.

After Timor-Leste was granted independence from Portugal in 1975, Indonesian troops invaded; after more than 25 years of struggle and the deaths of as many as 100,000 people, Timor-Leste became an independent, democratic nation in 2002.

"You remained firm in hope even amid affliction and, thanks to the character of your people and your faith, you have turned sorrow into joy," Pope Francis told government officials and leaders of civil society.

While the "dark clouds" of war have cleared, he said, the nation has "new challenges to face and new problems to solve. That is why I want to say: May the faith, which has enlightened and sustained you in the past, continue to inspire your present and future," particularly with "principles, projects and choices in conformity with the Gospel."

Poverty, underemployment, crime and emigration all are signs of the need for change and a commitment to working together for the common good, the pope said.

The president told Pope Francis that the government is working to fight "multi-dimensional poverty, hunger and food insecurity, maternal-childhood malnutrition, violence of any kind, different forms of exclusion and social marginalization."

"Infants, children and youth have a right to a better world, where they can develop their potential in a peaceful, dignified and balanced family environment," Ramos-Horta said.

Timor-Leste also is struggling with what the pope called "social scourges, such as the excessive use of alcohol and the formation of gangs by young people. These gang members are trained in martial arts, but instead of using this knowledge in the service of the defenseless, they use it as an opportunity to showcase the fleeting and harmful power of violence."

The prime minister extended a ban on martial arts instruction in the country during the visit of Pope Francis as part of security measures for the pope; different martial arts groups have been known to engage in street fighting.

Pope Francis also spoke of children and adolescents whose dignity has been "violated," and said, "We are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people."

It was unclear whether Pope Francis' general comment also was meant to refer to the case of former Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of Dili, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with Ramos-Horta for nonviolent resistance to Indonesia's occupation of his homeland, but who has been accused of sexually abusing boys.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed Aug. 30 that the restrictions imposed on Bishop Belo in 2020 after a Vatican investigation continue to be in force, including a prohibition from him returning to Timor-Leste. He is living in Portugal.

With some 65% of Timor-Leste's population being under the age of 30, Pope Francis insisted it is essential for the nation to invest in education and supporting families.

The pope promised that, as it has done for centuries, the Catholic Church will contribute to that process through its schools and its efforts to educate Catholics in morality and in the social teaching of the church.

"Looking at your recent past and what has been accomplished so far, there is reason to be confident that your nation will likewise be able to face intelligently and creatively the difficulties and problems of today," the pope said. "Trust the wisdom of the people."

From his meetings with civil authorities and children with disabilities and those in street situations; from Holy Mass and a short visit to Vanimo to meet with the local Catholic faithful; to the meeting with young people, Pope Francis' almost four full days in this South Pacific nation were an occasion for him to offer a message of hope to the people of Papua New Guinea.

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As Pope Francis begins the third leg of his 45th Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania, Vatican News speaks to the Secretary general of the Episcopal Conference of Timor-Leste and the vicar of the Archdiocese of Dili about the expectations from the papal visit and the challenges facing the small Catholic Asian nation

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VANIMO, Papua New Guinea (CNS) -- Pope Francis flew 600 miles to a remote outpost of Papua New Guinea to spend an afternoon with a group of missionaries -- many from Argentina -- and with their people.

Given a ride by the Royal Australian Air Force aboard a C-130 Hercules plane Sept. 8, the pope's first welcome was written offshore in the Pacific Ocean using bright orange floats: "Welcome, Pope Francis."

He brought with him about a ton of medicine, clothing, toys and other aid for the missionaries to distribute, the Vatican press office said. A pool reporter on his plane said he also had a large jar of lollipops -- he has regularly been distributing candy to children he meets at the Vatican and abroad.

But for the missionaries, the presence of the 87-year-old pope was enough of a gift.

Father Tomás Ravaioli, one of the Argentine Incarnate Word missionaries working nearby in Baro, said, "at his age, in his condition, this is an enormous sacrifice. But it shows that what he says, what he writes, he also demonstrates" through his closeness and service to people.

The visit, the priest said, should be a big encouragement to the local Catholics because it shows them that they really matter to the church.

The temperature hovered around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity held steady at 80% during the pope's visit. An estimated 20,000 people -- including many who crossed over the nearby Indonesian border -- were gathered on a huge grass field in front of the modest Holy Cross Cathedral, singing, praying and dancing as they awaited the pope.

Vanimo is the capital of Papua New Guinea's Sandaun Province, which is one of the poorest in the nation. Situated on the northwestern coast, it is an area prone to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity.

Bishop Francis Meli of Vanimo welcomed Pope Francis to the town, telling him, "Your visit is a symbol of peace in a world marred by conflicts and wars, violence, especially gender violence, inequality, sorcery-related violence, climate change, white-collar crime, law and order problems, etc."

"It is my prayer and hope that your visit, Holy Father, will bring renewed fervor to all Catholics and Christians in Vanimo, uniting them in faith and mission, especially in these most challenging times," the bishop said.

He also was greeted by Maria Joseph, a 12-year-old who has lived at the Catholic-run Lujan Home for Girls since she was abandoned at the age of 2.

"Holy Father," she said, "we are most grateful that you have come to visit us and given us the opportunity to tell you about our home. Your visit has brought us much joy and hope."

After flying over forests, mountains and the ocean on his way from Port Moresby to Vanimo, Pope Francis told the people, "One cannot help but be amazed by the colors, sounds and scents, as well as the grandiose spectacle of nature bursting forth with life, all evoking the image of Eden!"

"The Lord entrusts this richness to you as a sign and an instrument, so that you too may live united in harmony with him and with your brothers and sisters, respecting our common home and looking after one another," the pope told them.

"An even more beautiful sight," though, he said, is "that which grows in us when we love one another."

Being Christian, the pope told them, means working "to overcome divisions -- personal, family and tribal -- to drive out fear, superstition and magic from people's hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviors such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters, even in this country."

"Let us remember that love is stronger than all this and its beauty can heal the world, because it has its roots in God," Pope Francis said.

After the gathering in Vanimo, the pope drove about 10 miles further north to Holy Trinity Humanistic School in Baro for what the Vatican said would be a "private" visit with the missionaries.

But they had students and parishioners on hand to welcome the pope to their mission on the Pacific shore.

And he was treated to a short concert by the school orchestra, whose members were pleased to hear the plane carrying the pope also was bringing new instruments for them. The children began with the "Ode to Joy."

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (CNS) -- Building enthusiasm for living and sharing the Christian faith is not a matter of "techniques" but of being joyful and serving others, Pope Francis said.

In an afternoon devoted to the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea Sept. 7, the pope visited with some of the most vulnerable members of society, the Catholics who care for them, and with the country's bishops, priests, religious, seminarians and catechists.

He started at the Caritas Technical Secondary School in Port Moresby, meeting some 800 students as well as children who were living on the streets and children and adults with disabilities who are assisted by the Callan Services network.

Clemens, who cannot hear and signed while his sister, Genevieve, spoke, said to the pope, "Holy Father, I would like to ask you, first: Why do we have to suffer with our disability? Two: Why am I not able like others? Three: Why this suffering? Four: Is there hope for us, too?"

A young girl said that just having the meeting showed how much the pope loves the street children, "even though we are not productive, sometimes we are troublemakers, we roam around the streets and become (a) burden for others."

"I would like to ask you Holy Father, why we do not have opportunities like other kids do and how we can make ourselves useful to make our world more beautiful and happy even if we live in abandonment and poverty?" she asked.

Calling the children's questions "challenging," the pope responded that every person is unique, and each has talents and difficulties, but God has a mission for each person based on loving others and knowing how to accept love.

"To give love, always, and to welcome with open arms the love we receive from the people we care about: this is the most beautiful and most important thing in our life, in any condition and for any person -- even for the pope," he told the children.

"None of us are a 'burden,' as you said," the pope responded. "We are all beautiful gifts from God, a treasure for one another!"

Pope Francis ended the afternoon at the city's Shrine of Mary Help of Christians by listening to churchworkers share the joys and challenges of their ministries, including efforts to help people -- usually women or children -- who endure torture and even face death after being accused of witchcraft.

Sister Lorena Jenal, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Divine Providence, told Pope Francis about one of the 250 women her House of Hope has helped.

"Maria came to us in 2017," Sister Jenal said. "She was so badly tortured and burnt that we did not know if we could save her life."

But, she said, "today she is working in our team standing up for human rights and the dignity and equality of women. She witnesses to the importance of love and forgiveness among all people."

Father Emmanuel Moku, a self-described "late vocation" who was ordained 12 years ago at the age of 52, told the pope that "my clan expects a man to become a father and to work and feed his people. As a seminarian, I was therefore viewed as unfruitful. This made me feel hopeless."

But after ordination his family was proud to have a priest in the clan, he said. "Only then was I relieved of the pressure of my cultural norms."

Grace Wrakia, a laywoman who is a member of the Synod of Bishops on synodality, told the pope that she is not sure how long it will take for the church in Papua New Guinea to become truly synodal.

"But it would only take a few men in a strongly paternal society such as mine to believe in and support a woman in order to see her rise above her traditional status in society and bring about change," she said.

"I want to see change where women are partners and cooperators, where young people are not ignored or neglected but received with open hearts and minds, where priests and religious work as partners and not as competitors, where priests and consecrated men are not regarded as 'big men' but as servant leaders," she said.

Pope Francis encouraged all of them to hold fast and keep trying, inspired by the missionaries who arrived in Papua New Guinea in the mid-1800s. "The first steps of their ministry were not easy. Indeed, some attempts failed. However, they did not give up; with great faith, apostolic zeal and many sacrifices, they continued to preach the Gospel and serve their brothers and sisters, starting again many times whenever they failed."

More than anything, the pope said, those who truly want to be missionary disciples of Jesus must start at "the peripheries of this country" with "people belonging to the most deprived segments of urban populations, as well as those who live in the most remote and abandoned areas, where sometimes basic necessities are lacking."

"I think too of the marginalized and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition, sometimes to the point of having to risk their lives," the pope said. "The church desires especially to be close to these brothers and sisters, because in them Jesus is present in a special way."

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (CNS) -- With a 21-cannon salute, Pope Francis was welcomed to Papua New Guinea Sept. 6, the second stop on his four-nation visit to Asia and the Pacific.

After flying five and a half hours from Jakarta, Indonesia, the 87-year-old pope landed at Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby and was greeted with flowers from children wearing traditional dress.

John Rosso, Papua New Guinea's deputy prime minister, led the official welcome ceremony, which featured the cannon salute, a review of the honor guard, the playing of the Vatican and Papua New Guinean national anthems and the presentation of their respective delegations.

Although the pope landed an hour after sunset, the roads from the airport were lined with thousands of people hoping to see him. Many held long-handled, battery-powered candles.

Unlike Indonesia, where Christians are a small minority, in Papua New Guinea an estimated 98% of the population is Christian. According to Vatican statistics, Catholics represent about 31% of the nation's 8.2 million people.

With Pope Francis the Pacific-island nation was hosting its third papal visit; St. John Paul II visited in 1984 and again in 1995.

Papua New Guinea is known as a land of hundreds of ethnic groups living in remote areas and speaking their own languages; it is rich in natural resources, including gold, copper and natural gas, but one-third of the population lives below the poverty line.

The nation, and particularly Port Moresby, has been plagued by crime and gang violence for decades. In January, riots broke out over a cut in the salaries of public workers.

Pope Francis' itinerary for his trip Sept. 2-13 focused only on the capitals of Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Singapore. But in Papua New Guinea, the pope wants to visit a community of missionaries from Argentina ministering in and around the town of Vanimo in the northwest, so that was added to the schedule.

The trip to the outpost will give Pope Francis an opportunity to pay tribute to the generations of foreign missionaries who have and continue to share the Gospel with the people of Papua New Guinea through their preaching and religious education, but also through their schools, orphanages, hospitals and work for justice and the safeguarding of creation.

Papua New Guinea illustrates the connection Pope Francis often highlights between "the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth," a situation where minerals are extracted, forests denuded and energy supplies sold off to the financial benefit of only a handful of people, leaving the poor with a scarred and barren landscape.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) -- While members of every religion must be free to profess and practice their faith, they also should recognize that members of other religions have that right, too, and they all are searching for God, Pope Francis said.

Nasaruddin Umar, the grand imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, welcomed the pope to the mosque compound Sept. 5 and led him directly to the "tunnel of friendship," a wide underground walkway that connects the mosque and the Catholic cathedral across the busy street.

Like the pope, the imam was dressed in white from head to toe and greeted Pope Francis with a kiss on the cheek. At the end of the meeting, Umar put an arm around the pope's shoulder and kissed him on the top of the head. Pope Francis, who was seated in his wheelchair, took the imam's hand and kissed it.

Earlier, facing the entrance to the tunnel, Pope Francis had told the imam and donors who helped build it, "When we think of a tunnel, we might easily imagine a dark pathway. This could be frightening, especially if we are alone. Yet here it is different, for everything is illuminated."

"I would like to tell you, however, that you are the light that illuminates it," the pope said, "and you do so by your friendship, by the harmony you cultivate, the support you give each other, and by journeying together, which leads you in the end toward the fullness of light."

The pope and imam signed "The Istiqlal Declaration," a short document committing members of both religious communities to defending human dignity, especially when threatened with violence, and to defending the integrity of creation.

"The values shared by our religious traditions should be effectively promoted in order to defeat the culture of violence and indifference afflicting our world," the declaration said. "Indeed, religious values should be directed toward promoting a culture of respect, dignity, compassion, reconciliation and fraternal solidarity in order to overcome both dehumanization and environmental destruction."

Engkus Ruswana, a leader of Majelis Luhur Kepercayaan Indonesia, an organization for followers of Indigenous religions, said his faith's priority "is humanity and community, and the relationship between the human and nature. Indigenous religions, you know, have a good relationship between human beings and nature. Our principle is that we have to care for the Earth, for the world."

In a large tent draped with the white and red colors of the Indonesian flag, Ruswana joined the imam, the pope and other representatives of the country's religious communities, including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus and Confucians.

The formal meeting began with the chanting of a passage from the Quran by Kayla Nur Syahwa, 16, who won a national Quran recitation contest for children with disabilities, and a reading from the Gospels by a Catholic priest.

Pope Francis asked the religious leaders to consider how the tunnel can be a metaphor for the faith life of Indonesians by providing a meeting ground between the prayer spaces of two communities.

The tunnel, he said, should be a sign that "all of us, together, each cultivating his or her own spirituality and practicing his or her religion, may walk in search of God and contribute to building open societies, founded on reciprocal respect and mutual love, capable of protecting against rigidity, fundamentalism and extremism, which are always dangerous and never justifiable."

"The visible aspects of religions -- the rites, practices and so on -- are a heritage that must be protected and respected," the pope said. "However, we could say that what lies 'underneath,' what runs underground, like the 'tunnel of friendship,' is the one root common to all religious sensitivities: the quest for an encounter with the divine, the thirst for the infinite that the Almighty has placed in our hearts, the search for a greater joy and a life stronger than any type of death, which animates the journey of our lives and impels us to step out of ourselves to encounter God."

The Rev. Kriese Anki Gosal, a Presbyterian minister and vice general secretary of the Communion of Churches, the main ecumenical body in Indonesia, said, "The visit of the pope is very amazing for us. We want to have our pope's message."

When asked about using "our" to refer to the pope, she said, "He is the pope of all people. He has messages we must pass on," whether one is a Catholic or not, a Christian or not.

The Rev. Jacklevyn Manuputty, general secretary of the ecumenical group that includes 97 churches and Christian communities, insisted Christians -- who make up about 10% of Indonesia's population -- are not minorities. "We are citizens, not minorities. 'Majority-minority' are political terms that can and have been misused."

"We are living in one of the most diverse countries in the world, so dialogue is our lifestyle," he said. "All over the world there is a growing tendency of populism and identity politics based on race or religion -- dialogue is how we promote authenticity."

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) -- The Christian call to share the Gospel is not about trying to win converts at all costs, but about living in a way that exudes Christian joy and always treats others with respect, Pope Francis told churchworkers in Indonesia.

"Proclaiming the Gospel does not mean imposing our faith or placing it in opposition to that of others, but giving and sharing the joy of encountering Christ, always with great respect and fraternal affection for everyone," the pope told bishops, priests, religious and catechists at a meeting Sept. 4.

Pope Francis asked Indonesian Catholics to be "prophets of communion in a world where the tendency to divide, impose and provoke each other seems to be constantly increasing."

Welcoming Pope Francis to Jakarta's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunyamin of Bandung, president of the Indonesian bishops' conference, told him the bishops hope his visit will prompt Catholics to "increasingly seek an encounter with God that manifests the joy of the Gospel, creates a culture of encounter in which we see others as a brother or sister, and restores the integrity of creation by listening to the cry of the poor and of the earth, our common home."

In his speech to the group, Pope Francis focused on the theme the bishops chose for his visit: "Faith -- Fraternity -- Compassion."

Those Christian values, he said, can coincide easily with "Pancasila," Indonesia's founding philosophy that emphasizes five principles: belief in one God, a just and civilized citizenry, unity, democracy and social justice.

Indonesia has some 276 million people and about 87% of them are Muslim, according to government statistics. The Vatican estimates that 3% of the population is Catholic, which equates to about 8.3 million people.

Father Pilifur Junianto, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, traveled from Batam to meet the pope. He said Catholics in Indonesia practice "silaturahmi," which "means we encounter others -- other religions, other cultures. We visit each other on our feast days," especially when members of the same family or close neighbors belong to different religions.

"As Catholics, we are focused on its meaning as universal -- we can accept others," he said. "Our main service as Catholics is education -- schools and universities. We can influence all our students," including many who are not Catholic. "That way we can help implement 'Pancasila.'"

Brother Ivan, a member of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mercy, who does not use his last name, said it was overwhelming to be in the cathedral with Pope Francis, who is "very humble and an amazing pope."

Although for the most part, hundreds of women religious sat on one side of the church while priests and brothers sat on the other, Brother Ivan sat with the Sisters of Our Lady of Amersfoort who run the school where he teaches. The sisters declined an interview request as they waited for vespers to begin.

Schoenstatt Father Matius Pawai, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Jakarta, was seated near the back of the cathedral. The priests and sisters near the front, he said, arrived at 11:30 a.m. for the 4:30 p.m. meeting with the pope; he didn't arrive until noon when the temperature hit 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

After a woman and a young man gave brief testimonies about their ministries as catechists, Pope Francis told the crowd that catechists have the most important role in the church, followed by religious sisters, then priests and bishops. It was just one of many off-the-cuff comments the 87-year-old pope made during the meeting.

Pope Francis told the churchworkers that Indonesia's natural beauty should remind people that God gives human beings all good things. "There is not an inch of the marvelous Indonesian territory, nor a moment in the lives of its millions of inhabitants that is not a gift from God, a sign of his gratuitous and everlasting love as Father."

"Looking at all we have been given with the humble eyes of children helps us to believe, to recognize ourselves as small and beloved and to cultivate feelings of gratitude and responsibility," he told them.

The variety found in humanity also is a gift from God, he said, and a call to live as brothers and sisters with all. "No two drops of water are alike, nor are two brothers or sisters, not even twins are completely identical. Living out fraternity, then, means welcoming each other, recognizing each other as equal in diversity."

Faith and recognizing each other as brothers and sisters, the pope said, must lead to compassion -- not just giving alms to the poor, but drawing close to them, helping them stand and fighting for justice on their behalf.

"This doesn't mean being a communist," he said. "It means charity -- love."

"What keeps the world going is not the calculations of self-interest, which generally end up destroying creation and dividing communities," the pope said, "but offering charity to others. Compassion does not cloud the true vision of life. On the contrary, it makes us see things better, in the light of love."