Pope: ‘No to rearmament, yes to encounter between peoples of Asia-Pacific’.
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.
Port Moresby (AsiaNews) - ‘No to rearmament and exploitation of our common home! Yes to the encounter between peoples and cultures, yes to the harmony of men and women with creatures!’.
This is the appeal that Pope Francis addressed this morning from Port Moresby to all the peoples of the world, and in particular ‘for this great region between Asia, Oceania and the Pacific Ocean’.
‘Peace, peace for the nations and also for creation,’ said the pontiff before the recital of the Angelus, at the end of the beautiful Eucharistic liturgy presided over in the Sir John Guise Stadium in front of 35,000 people. A celebration animated and coloured by the traditional costumes and dances of the peoples of the archipelago.
In his homily - commenting on today's Gospel passage, which recounts the healing of the deaf-mute - Francis had returned to the theme of isolation, a condition so common for those who live in this region of the world.
Even the Decapolis, where the man to whom Jesus performed this miracle lived, was ‘in a geographical area that, in today's language, we would call “periphery”,’ the pontiff commented. Even in Papua New Guinea, many places can only be reached after hours of walking in the forest or sailing on a boat. But there is an even more painful isolation, the Pope explained: that of those who ‘cut themselves off from communion and friendship with God and their brothers and sisters’. And it is to this isolation that God ‘responds with the closeness of Jesus’.
‘Brothers and sisters, brothers and sisters, who live in this land so far away, perhaps you may imagine that you are separated from the Lord and from one another. This is not true, no: you are united in the Holy Spirit and in the Lord! And the Lord says to each one of you, “be opened”! The most important thing is to open ourselves to God and our brothers and sisters, and to open ourselves to the Gospel, making it the compass of our lives.
"Brothers and sisters, who live in this land so far away’ Francis said, ’perhaps you have the imagination of being separated, separated from the Lord, separated from men, and this does not go, no: you are united, united in the Holy Spirit, united in the Lord. And the Lord says to each one of you: ‘Open up!’ This is the most important thing: open ourselves to God, open ourselves to our brothers, open ourselves to the Gospel and make it the compass of our lives. To you too today the Lord says: ‘Courage, do not be afraid, Papuan people. Open yourselves. Open yourselves to the joy of the Gospel, open yourselves to the encounter with God, open yourselves to the love of your brothers.Today, the Lord also says to you, “Courage, people of Papua New Guinea, do not be afraid! Open yourselves! Open yourselves to the joy of the Gospel; open yourselves to encounter God; open yourselves to the love of your brothers and sisters."
During his homily in the Mass at the Port Moresby stadium, Francis also returned today to point to the example of Blessed John Baptist Mazzucconi, the first martyr of PIME, killed in 1855 while reaching the island of Woodlark ‘so that no one,’ said the Pope, ‘might remain deaf before the joyful message of salvation, and all might loosen their tongues to sing the love of God. May it be so, today, for you too’.
Because the mission ad gentes, the choice to leave everything to go and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, never stopped in Papua New Guinea. And Francis himself wanted to show it this afternoon by going to Vanimo, an even more isolated diocese of Papua New Guinea, on the border with Indonesia. He arrived there on board a military cargo plane, provided by the Australian Air Force.
Addressing the local Catholic community, on the lawn in front of the small cathedral, the pope recalled that ‘religious women, men and women religious, catechists and lay missionaries have not stopped preaching the Word of God and offering help to their brothers and sisters, in pastoral care, education, health care and many other areas, facing many difficulties, to be instruments of peace and love for all.
But it is a task that each one is also called upon to carry out where they live, forming ‘a large orchestra’, like the one that welcomed him among his Argentine missionary friends in the parish of Baro, which Francis wanted to visit, bringing aid, medicines, but also Bibles, Rosaries and some musical instruments. Because together it becomes possible to ‘recompose rivalries, overcome divisions - personal, family and tribal -; to drive out fear, superstition and magic from people's hearts; to put an end to destructive behaviour such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, the use of alcohol and drugs: evils that imprison and make unhappy so many brothers and sisters, even here’.
Love is stronger and ‘its beauty can heal the world’, explains the Pope. And in Papua New Guinea, another great example of holiness embodied in the local culture has also demonstrated this: Blessed Peter To Rot, ‘spouse, father, catechist and martyr of this land, who gave his life precisely to defend the unity of the family in the face of those who wanted to undermine its foundations,’ Francis recalled.
Taking leave of Vanimo and its pristine nature, the pope evoked the word ‘paradise’ that many tourists associate with such beauty. ‘We, however, know,’ he added, ‘that is not the greatest treasure. There is another one, more beautiful and fascinating, which is found in your hearts and which manifests itself in the charity with which you love each other.
This is the most precious gift that you can share and make known to all, making Papua New Guinea famous not only for its variety of flora and fauna, its enchanting beaches and its clear sea, but also and above all for the good people you meet there. I say this especially to you, children, with your contagious smiles and your bursting joy, which sprouts in every direction,' he concluded. ’You are the most beautiful image that those who leave here can take with them and keep in their hearts.
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19/02/2024 13:45
