Pope Francis, visiting Papua New Guinea, on Saturday called on its leaders to “stop the spiral” of ancestral tribal violence and to better exploit the rich natural resources of this poor South Pacific country.
Francis, 87, arrived Friday for a three-day visit to the multi-ethnic, majority-Christian country, one of the most volatile states in the Pacific, the second leg of a marathon tour of four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
In a first speech on Saturday before the authorities and the diplomatic corps in the capital Port Moresby, the Argentine Jesuit called for “an end to the spiral” of ancestral tribal violence which has killed or displaced tens of thousands of people in the country.
This violence “does not allow us to live in peace and hinders development,” he said, while these clashes, endemic for centuries, have gained in intensity in recent years.
Despite government efforts to curb them, the atrocities committed often prove to be particularly violent, with victims being hacked to death with machetes, burned, mutilated or tortured.
The Pope also called for “enhancing the natural and human resources” of this country of 11.8 million inhabitants for the benefit of “the entire community”, while barely more than 10% of homes have access to electricity.
– Traditional dances –
Papua New Guinea has vast reserves of gold, copper, nickel, natural gas and timber that have attracted investment from many multinationals.
“Even if their exploitation requires the intervention of broader skills and large international companies”, the latter should not be the only ones to benefit, the Argentine Pope said.
“It is right that the needs of local populations be duly taken into account in the distribution of income and in the employment of labor, in order to effectively improve their living conditions,” he insisted, taking up a strong theme of his pontificate.
According to a recent World Bank study, the country’s GDP per capita increased by more than a third between 2009 and 2018, thanks to the resource boom.
But over the same period, the percentage of people living on less than $2 a day remained virtually stable. “Poverty has hardly changed over this period,” the report said.
Arriving in a wheelchair, the Argentine Pope was greeted by traditional dancers in loincloths and with painted faces, with whom he exchanged gifts. Papua New Guinea has more than 800 indigenous languages and many indigenous rites.
On Saturday afternoon, the leader of the country’s 1.3 billion Catholics will meet with street children and address local clergy.
On Sunday, he will preside over a large mass in a stadium and make a quick trip to Vanimo, in the far northwest of the country, where he will meet with the faithful and missionaries.
– Historical visit –
After a three-day stopover in Jakarta, François was welcomed on Friday evening in Port Moresby, where his visit has aroused massive enthusiasm, as in Indonesia.
By air, sea and on foot, pilgrims have flocked to the capital in recent days. Previously dusty streets have been swept, street vendors have been chased away and the Vatican’s yellow and white flags hang from streetlights, fluttering in the warm Coral Sea breeze.
Francis is the first pope to visit the former Australian colony since John Paul II, who drew huge crowds there in 1984 and 1995.
About 98% of the population is Christian, 25% of whom are Catholic. But these figures are far from reflecting the richness of beliefs and customs in this country with more than 850 ethno-linguistic groups.
After this stage, François will go to East Timor and then Singapore, where he will end this 12-day tour, the longest and most distant since his election in 2013.
cmk-arb/cco
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