Last Friday, at the 4-yearly assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) in Port Moresby, Fr Ambrose Periera led a discussion with young people from various parts of the country.
Periera is a Salesian priest and secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Commission for young people.
The young people challenged the bishops to spend time with them, accompany them in the reality of day-to-day life, and form and fully involve young people in the life of the Church.
They made mention of the need for good marriages that lead to stable family life.
Other speakers on Friday included:
- Mr Powes Parkop the current Governor of the National Capital District
- Ms Melissa Hitchman the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See
- Bishop Leo Laba Ladjar Auxiliary Bishop of Jayapura
- Archbishop Mark Coleridge Archbishop of Brisbane.
On Friday evening, Cardinal Parolin and the bishops and members of the Catholic Professional Society joined Peter O’Neill, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, for a special dinner.
O’Neill spoke about the invaluable role played by the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea.
He renewed his invitation to Pope Francis to visit the country.
Speakers on Saturday included:
- Prof Kaluwin Chalapan from the University of PNG
- Msgr Gerard Burns President of Caritas Oceania
On Sunday the bishops celebrated the Eucharist in 14 parishes across Port Moresby.
On Monday, a Eucharistic celebration was held for differently abled persons and Street Kids at St Charles Lwanga, Gerehu.
This was followed by a visit to La Salle Technical College, Hohola.
On Tuesday, a concluding Mass will be held at 6.30am at the Airways Hotel. A handover to the new President will be made by Cardinal John Ribat.
Source
- Supplied: Fr Ambrose Pereira
- looppng.com
- Image: Supplied Fr Ambrose Pereira