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John Ribat, Papua New Guinea’s newly appointed Cardinal, says Pope Francis has been very true to his word that he’s not looking at the traditional places where cardinals have been appointed in the past.
“He’s going beyond that and wanting a fairer representation of the church,” he said in an extended interview with Alex Perrottet on Dateline Pacific.
“He wants to say the church is for the poor, and that’s how he sees it in his mind and that’s how he wants to show it now in practice.”
“Not only through the traditional places, but even to reach out to those small places.”
Ribat said, “I see it this way. What he’s been kind of advocating is really to be prepared.”
“We hear of this migration and war and all this, and people are kind of into a situation where they are really suffering and need their basic needs in life – food, water, clothing and shelter, all these.”
“Now, also on the other hand, here in the Pacific we are faced with a very high risk situation and we say that it is the result of climate change, and that is the high rise sea level, and that is: islands are disappearing slowly, washing way.”
When he was asked what the Church was doing to alleviate poverty in Papua New Guinea Ribat listed a number of things the church is doing to “be prepared”
He said that the Catholic church does not confine its activities to its own members – “but for everyone, eh. Because things like this do happen and it affects all, from other churches and so on”
Source
- radionz.co.nz
- Image: kiz-online.de
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News category: Asia Pacific.
