Clergy urges people to maintain faith

By SALLY POKITON
UPNG journalism student
PAPUA New Guineans have been urged to keep their faith in God and remain peaceful in the face of political  upheavals.
United Church in Papua New Guinea moderator Reverend Samson Lowa commented after the Supreme Court’s decision to restore Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare as the Prime Minister on Monday.
He said the nation must recognise and wake up to the fact that these “are spiritual battles fought in the legislature, judiciary, and executive arm of government systems of our democracy”.
“If we, as leaders, have done wrong, we must be humble enough to deal with our pride, self-righteousness, confess our weakness and summon enough courage to provide strong and able leadership to our people,” Lowa said.
He said it was the people who would be deeply affected by the Supreme Court decision and its implications.
Lowa refered to an African proverb: “When two elephants fight, the grass die” “We must do all we can to stop our battles, respect the grass and allow common sense to prevail.
“We must not leave our people out in our thoughts and actions, their interest must be of paramount interest,” Lowa said.
“We claim to be a Christian nation, then let us have faith and hope in God in the midst of political and legal intrigue.”