The Papal visit

Focus

By Grace Maribu

Papua New Guinea received the 'head of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II when he arrived in the country on January 16 as part of his Asia-Pacific tour. The three-day visit, basi cally to beatify a Papua New Guinea martyr, PeterToßot, was later acclaimed as hugely successful In front of a huge crowd, which had braved the rains to witness the ceremo ny at Sir John Guise Stadium, the Pontiff

beatified the late Toßot the day after his arrival.

Toßot > a catechist from the East New ® erli " P™ vince of PNG - was ”“ rdered by the Japancsc dunn * World War 11 because of his refusal to stop missionary

work *

Akhou « h y et to be canonised (officially recognised as a saint within the Catholic Church), the Toßot will be the S™" 11 flrs ' sain ‘- Thc agmg P ° nt s’ lookm B weaiy md T° m ’ f epped off a special night from the Philippines at Port Moresby’s

Jacksons International Airport to the cheer of thousands of people who had crammed the airport area and the main road.

The Po P e was met on arrival h V PNG’s Governor-General, Sir Wiwa Korowi; Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan, Archbishop of Port Moresby, Sir Peter Kurongku and other dignitaries as he disembarked to a red-carpet welcome plus a 2 '"W® sa > ute - In Ws “rrival speech at the airport, the Po P e s P oke on the BougainvUle issue, strongly appealing to the people of

The Pope’s PNG tour: people braved the weather to catch a glimpse of him (above); waving to the people as he steps off the plane (right), and conduct ing the beatification of Peter Torot whose picture hangs in the background.

Catholic-controlled Bougainville to “remove bitterness from your hearts, lay down your arms, and seek reconcilia tion”.

“To you, people of Bougainville, I send a special word of encouragement. If you have been treated unjustly, I urge you to remove bitterness from your hearts. If you bear arms unjustly, put them down and seek reconciliation.”

He officiated at various other church engagements before leading the beatifi cation ceremony the next day. Amid a

steady downpour, about 20,000 people cheered and sang as the Pontiff led the ceremony in true Papua New Guinean

style.

The three-day visit received extensive media coverage - it was carried live via television and radio broadcasts through out the country and to Australia, USA, Spain and Italy.

It had been initially planned the Pontiff would travel to East New Britain to beatify Toßot but the plan was can celled due to the Pope’s ailing health and the volcanic disaster there in

September last year. The Pope expressed

regret at not being able to perform the rites on New Britain soil”! regret that I am not able to be with Peter Toßofs beloved Tolai people on this occasion but circumstances have not permitted me to go to New Britain,” he said.

“I wish I could visit all the people in the various parts of these islands, but I can only stay very briefly. Therefore, I can assure all of you, wherever you are,

that I am thinking of you.”

The Pontiff departed for Australia on January 18 for the beatification of Australian nun M' / McKillop after his Air Niugini flight was delayed for 20 minutes due to a fault in the tempera ture gauge.

“I take leave of you and your beautiful country with my heart filled with grati tude, joy and hope,” said the Pope when he farewelled the people of PNG short ly before his departure. “I am deeply grateful for the warm hospitality which (you) have shown me. I express my sin cere thanks to all those who made this pastoral visit possible, especially His Excellency the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and the distinguished Members of Parliament.”

He also thanked his brother bishops, the clergy, the religious and laity, many of whom, he said, had made quiet and unseen sacrifices so that the visit brought happiness and strength to oth ers. ■