Cardinal, priests, people gather to pray for country over pandemic

ARCHBISHOP of Port Moresby Cardinal Sir John Ribat and 38 priests and religious people gathered in a Chrism Mass to pray for the country last week.
By maintaining the Covid-19 restrictions of using masks, sanitising and social distancing, the priests and faithful joined Sir John in prayer for alleviation of the country from the critical situation it was in.
In his homily, Sir John encouraged his priests to take on pastoral ministry, evangelisation of people and formation of the faithful with joy and commitment. Quoting Pope Francis, he said he prefered: “a church that is bruised, hurting and dirty, because it has been out on the streets, in remote, isolated rural areas rather than a church concerned with being at the centre and caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures”. Sir John said being the year of St Joseph, he reminded the priests and the lay faithfuls of the qualities of St Joseph emphasising in a special way, that God had a plan for everyone and that like St Joseph, everyone needed to be persons of action and fulfil God’s plan in their lives.
He prayed for prevention and healing as the Covid-19 toll started to impact PNG.
He also thanked the priests and people for their tremendous effort in Sir Michael Somare’s funeral mass.