Pope: End tribal violence in Papua New Guinea

(ANSA) – PORT MORESBY, 07 SEPTEMBER – “I hope, in particular, that tribal violence will cease, which unfortunately causes many victims, does not allow us to live in peace and hinders development. I therefore appeal to everyone’s sense of responsibility, so that the spiral of violence is interrupted and instead we resolutely take the path that leads to fruitful collaboration, to the advantage of the entire people of the country”. Pope Francis said this in his speech to the authorities and civil society of Papua New Guinea, at the Apec Haus in Port Moresby. The Pontiff appealed, as a “necessary condition for obtaining lasting results” also on the social level, to the “stability of institutions, which is favored by agreement on some essential points between the different conceptions and sensibilities present in society”. According to Francis, “increasing institutional solidity and building consensus on fundamental choices represents an indispensable requirement for integral and supportive development”. It also requires, he added, “a long-term vision and a climate of collaboration among all, despite the distinction of roles and the difference of opinions”. For the Pope, “in the climate generated by these attitudes, the question of the status of the island of Bougainville will also be able to find a definitive resolution, avoiding the rekindling of ancient tensions”. Furthermore, “by consolidating harmony on the foundations of civil society, and with the willingness of each to sacrifice something of their own positions for the benefit of all, it will be possible to set in motion the forces necessary to improve infrastructure, to address the health and educational needs of the population and to increase opportunities for dignified work”. “I have come here – he concluded – to encourage the Catholic faithful to continue their journey and to confirm them in the profession of faith; I have come to rejoice with them for the progress they are making and to share their difficulties; I am here, as Saint Paul would say, as a ‘collaborator of your joy'”. (ANSA).