Church welcomes bishop

CATHOLICS welcomed Rev Anthon Bal as its sixth Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Madang last Thursday.
More than 2,500 people were present at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Madang to witness the occasion which included a Eucharist as a thanksgiving to God for the new archbishop.
Archbishop Bal replaced Archbishop Stephen Joseph Reichert who served Madang for eight years.
Bal formerly served as the Diocese of Kundiawa, before the Vatican Embassy announced his appointment to the Archdiocese of Madang, in July.
Bal received his episcopal consecration on Jan 12, 2009 and was appointed as the Bishop of Kundiawa.
He is the vice-president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and the Solomon Islands. He is also the chairman of the committee for Integral Human Development and Deputy Bishop for National Family Life Commission.
Bal in his homily message told the people to live a Christ-like lifestyle. He said as the new archbishop, he needed the help and the communion of everyone.