Videos posted online show fires and families displaced by the presence of what the authorities call "illegal miners”, migrants from neighbouring areas who came to dig for gold. Local landowners get proceeds from the Porgera mine, one of the richest in the world, as compensation for environmental damage. Various groups have clashed over the mine, a scourge Pope Francis denounced a few days ago during his visit.
The appeal at the Angelus at the end of the Mass celebrated at the Port Moresby stadium. The message to the Papuan faithful: ‘You are not isolated, the Lord is close here too’. In the extreme frontier of Vanimo the meeting with the missionaries, recalling the example of the martyr John Mazzucconi, ready to do anything to bring the Gospel's message of salvation. Along with that of the local catechist Peter To Rot, also blessed, who gave his life to defend the unity of the family.
The city where the pontiff will go tomorrow is located in a particularly remote area. Francis has expressly asked to add this stop to be able to meet the faithful of the diocese, but also the priests and religious of the Argentine Institute of the Incarnate Word in the parish of Baro, where he has contributed to the construction of a secondary school. The presence of Indonesian missionaries also among those who fled from across the border.
In the Oceania archipelago marked by intensive exploitation by large multinationals, the pontiff urges ‘sustainable and equitable development’. The call to the political community to work together so that the ‘tribal violence that causes many victims’ may cease. The invitation to the Church to have the strength to ‘always begin again’, to reach the most remote physical and human peripheries, including the victims of witchcraft accusations. The call to the blessed martyrs John Mazzucconi and Peter To Rot.
Hundreds of people accompanied the journey from the airport to the nunciature. Some have walked for a week from the country’s remotest to be present. For the Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, Fr Giorgio Licini, youth unemployment and the victims of witchcraft are some of the issues, “which we hope Francis will address.”
The testimony of an Indian religious of the Missionaries of the Immaculate from the first country in Oceania that will welcome the Pope in a week's time. Life on the most remote islands, the hand of God in trials and dangers, the challenge of truly bringing the Gospel inside traditional cultures, the need for new missionaries. ‘Living here has filled me with immense joy: the simple people here have inspired me, showing me the beauty of humility and the joy of daily life.’
