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 Read more
“Ours is a deeply Christian nation, and regardless of denomination, all Papua New Guinean Christians can be proud of our first Cardinal, Sir John Ribat,” said Papua New Guinea’s prime minister Peter O’Neill. O’Neill said the elevation of Ribat to Cardinal on November 19 will be a time of national pride. “We congratulate Sir John Read more
“In Oceania, our survival and existence are at stake,” said Monsignor John Ribat, President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania and the Archbishop of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Ribat was taking part in an emotionally charged press conference in Rome on Monday. Catholic leaders representing every continent on earth made an Read more
The Catholic archbishop of Port Moresby, John Ribat, says the plan by the speaker of parliament, Theo Zurenuoc, to place the bible in parliament to symbolise Papua New Guinea’s status as a Christian nation has political aspects to it. He says that the speaker’s plan is backed by a small group of people who do Read more
The Catholic archbishop of Port Moresby, John Ribat, says this week’s executions in Indonesia underline why Papua New Guinea should not go ahead with reactivating the death penalty. In an interview on Radio Australia he said that he hoped that the circumstances surrounding the executions in Indonesia will bring “more light to our into our Read more
Revivalist churches in Papua New Guinea are promoting prayer as a substitute for medication to those with HIV, according to human rights groups. But The mainstream churches in PNG are working with the United Nations and non-government organisations to help people access services. Catholic archbishop John Ribat is a member of the Christian Leaders Alliance. Read more
The Bishops of the Federation of Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania have elected Archbishop John Ribat of Port Moresby as President of their Conference Federation, and the Vice President is Bishop Robert McGuckin of Toowoomba. There were 82 Bishops from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, the countries of the Pacific, and Australia and New Zealand in Read more
Work is underway in Papua New Guinea to come up with recommendations for the government on the best way to re-settle refugees, currently in detention at Manus Island. It will spend the next few weeks consulting non-government organisations, businesses and other community groups. The panel’s deputy chair is the Archbishop of Port Moresby John Ribat. Read more
Churches the Pacific region are concerned about plans to send people seeking asylum in Australia to Papua New Guinea for assessment and resettlement. In PNG, Christian leaders have asked their Prime Minister O’Neill to reconsider the refugee deal he signed with Australia. During a press conference last Wednesday in Port Moresby, the PNG Council of Read more
The Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea has voiced its opposition to government moves to implement the death penalty. Catholic Archbishop of Port Moresby, John Ribat, flanked by the General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in PNG and Solomon Islands Fr Victor Roche, announced the church’s position at a press conference in Port Moresby Read more