Bishops pay tribute to late colleague

A SPECIAL Eucharistic celebration was held to bring to a close the annual general assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands last Thursday.
The mass held at the Rebiamul parish in Mt Hagen was also used to pay tribute to the late Emeritus Archbishop of Mt Hagen Michael Meier, who passed away on April 3.
Presiding over mass as the main celebrant was Archbishop of Madang Anton Bal and concelebrating the occasion was Archbishop of Port Moresby Cardinal Sir John Ribat and Archbishop of Mt Hagen Douglas Young.
In his homily, Bal reflected on Jesus’s promise of eternal life and urged the faithful gathered to be considerate and to always acknowledge Christ.
“Through Christ, the Church has arisen. Jesus said ‘he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will be given eternal life’. We each have the freedom to choose whether to accept Jesus’s words to eternal life,” he said.
Reflecting on the assembly’s theme of ‘Salt and Light’, Bal implored all Christians to become the change and support needed to transform the lives of others facing darkness.
A 63-year old woman and parishioner of Rebiamul, Sabina Monpi, described Archbishop Meier as a ‘Man of God’ who lived to serve the needs of those less fortunate and to bring them closer in Jesus Christ.
“He paid for our children’s school fees and made sure that they went to school.”