Pope Francis’ Visitation to Asia
Pope Francis landed at 7.20 am (Rome time, 2.20 pm local time) in Dli, East Timor, beginning the third leg of his apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania.
Pope Francis’ visitation to Asia is currently on a significant apostolic journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania. As of early September 2024, he has been traveling across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. During his visit to Papua New Guinea, he emphasized the importance of overcoming fear, superstition, and violence, particularly in remote regions. On September 8, Pope Francis traveled to Vanimo, a remote town in Papua New Guinea, where he delivered a message of love, urging the local community to foster unity and peace.
He also brought much-needed humanitarian aid, including medicine, toys, and clothing, to the area. In his address, Francis encouraged the faithful to be “missionaries where they live,” and spoke against destructive behaviors like tribal violence, exploitation, and alcohol abuse, which have affected the country. His visit concluded with a Mass in Port Moresby, after which he flew to East Timor to continue his journey oai_citation:3,Pope’s Schedule for Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania – Vatican News oai_citation:2,Pope Francis enters Papua New Guinea’s remote jungles with humanitarian aid and toys | Hosted oai_citation:1,Pope Francis in Papua New Guinea: Put Love Before Superstition, Fear| National Catholic Register.
The Pope to young Papuans: choose harmony, not division and lift up those who fall.
In the last meeting in Papua New Guinea, at the Port Moresby stadium, Francis speaks with over ten thousand boys and girls, in the country of over 800 languages: “Think carefully: do you have a common language? The language of the heart! The language of love! The language of closeness! And also, the language of service. I thank you for your presence here. And I hope that all of you speak the deepest language: that all of you are “wantok” of love” he recalls.
Then against indifference he says: “you who are young, you must have the restlessness of the heart to take care of others. You must have the restlessness to make friends among yourselves” and if someone falls, “must they stay fallen? [The young people respond: no!] Good. And if we see a friend, a girlfriend, a companion, who falls, should we leave them there or give them a blow? [Young people answer: no!] What should we do? [Young people answer: get back up!]”.
Pope Francis’ journey to Papua New Guinea, part of his larger apostolic visit to Southeast Asia and Oceania in September 2024, highlights his commitment to the marginalized and remote communities. His trip to Vanimo, a town reachable only by plane or boat, exemplified his focus on the “peripheries,” a term he has consistently used to describe the areas where the Catholic Church’s presence is most needed.
In Vanimo, he met with around 20,000 local Catholics and delivered a speech urging them to foster unity and replace fear and superstition with love. He also spoke out against violence, particularly tribal conflicts, and destructive behaviors such as alcohol abuse and infidelity, which are significant issues in the region. His message encouraged the community to be a harmonious “orchestra” working together for peace and mutual respect oai_citation:5,Pope’s Schedule for Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania – Vatican News oai_citation:4,Pope Francis enters Papua New Guinea’s remote jungles with humanitarian aid and toys | Hosted oai_citation:3,Pope Francis in Papua New Guinea: Put Love Before Superstition, Fear| National Catholic Register.
While in Papua New Guinea, Francis also delivered humanitarian aid, including medicine, toys, and clothing, to local communities. He celebrated Mass in Port Moresby before continuing to East Timor as part of his 11-day trip oai_citation:2,Pope Francis enters Papua New Guinea’s remote jungles with humanitarian aid and toys | Hosted oai_citation:1,Pope Francis in Papua New Guinea: Put Love Before Superstition, Fear| National Catholic Register.
Leave a Reply