with Archbishop

Politics

PNG's Skate declares truce with Archbishop

PAPUA New Guinea prime minister Bill Skate has accepted criticisms of his government by the Catholic Archbishop of Port Moresby, Brian Barnes, saying he took them as a

challenge.

He also undertook to direct his ministers not to issue public

statements criticising

Archbishop Barnes or the Catholic Church.

Speaking for the first time since Archbishop Barnes made his scathing attack on the eve of Easter, Mr. Skate said he respects the church and wants to work with church leaders.

“I came here for peace,”

Skate told Catholic bishops from throughout PNG at a special function hosted by the Apostolic Nuncio (the Pope’s representa tive to PNG) Archbishop Hans Schwemmer.

He told the bishops the Catholic Church had made him what he is today.

Skate said there were lessons to be learned from what Archbishop Bames had said.

The Prime Minister said he would like to meet with the Catholic bishops to listen to their concerns and also explain to them what his government was

doing.

Later he told his officers to

start preparations for him to meet with the bishops and discuss the concerns raised by

Archbishop Bames.

Skate told the bishops he would direct all his ministers to refrain from attacking Archbishop Barnes over his statements, which included a call for a change of gov ernment.

He told the bishops he wants to make peace with the church and work with church leaders.

The function was also attended by the Leader of the Opposition, Bernard Narokobi, founding prime minister Sir Michael Somare, and Central Governor Ted

Diro, among other dignitaries/ He spent some time meeting and chat ting with Archbishop Barnes and other bishops before leaving.

The Catholic Bishops of PNG, who have gathered for their annual general meeting in Port Moresby, had issued a statement declaring their unqualified support for

Archbishop Barnes. They endorsed the statements he made in his Easter message and subsequent media interviews.

“We unanimously agree that the criti cisms he expressed and the warnings he sounded about the deteriorating state of this nation are real concerns of a great majority of the people of this country,” the bishops said in their statement.

“Archbishop Barnes has spoken to the leadership of this country on behalf of the people. There are many things that have gone wrong and not much is being done about them.”

The bishops said of Skate’s statement:

“We are cautiously encouraged

by the Prime Minister’s public statement of regret for his gov ernment’s failure to deal with the problems of our nation.

“He says he has instructed his ministers not to respond nega tively to the Archbishop’s criti cisms.

“He declared that he accepts them as a challenge to do bet ter. He sees the events of the past week as a strong warning that positive action must be taken in the future on a grow ing number of serious issues.

We wonder if his present resolve is too little too late.”

The bishops stated in their statement they will invite the Prime Minister to discuss the problems highlighted by

Archbishop Barnes.

“The Prime Minister has sug gested that we invite him to meet with us. “This we will do,” the statement said.

“However, such a meeting should be taken as an occasion to explain why so little progress is being made by government

in dealing with PNG’s problems. Rather, we see it as our opportunity to tell the Prime Minister and all political leaders, including those in the Opposition, about the disinte grating state of our society and the daily sufferings of the common people at the hands of a self-serving and insensitive gov ernment.” ■

PNG prime minister Bill Skate