Respect for culture ‘unites’

 By CHARLES MOI
ARCHBISHOP John Ribat says people in the country are united by their respect and value for the various cultures.
Catholic Archbishop of Port Moresby  Ribat, who was at the cultural show held at the Caritas Secondary Technical School last Saturday, said PNG was privileged to have different cultures.
“It is very important that we have these cultures,” Ribat said.
“Today we have seen the recognition of many different cultural groups here.
“As we have 800 different cultures, it consists of 800 different languages also.”
Ribat said the main issue was how to keep the different cultures united.
He said the country’s ancestors preserved their cultures through a defensive mechanism to protect themselves from outside influence.
He said that the work of the Christian missionaries untied everyone despite their diverse cultures.
Ribat said respect for the word of God and promotion of the Christian faith were needed to also keep the country united.
He expressed delight in watching students show pride in their culture through performances at the show.
The Caritas celebrated its 21st  cultural show with the theme “United in cultural diversity”.
There were cultural performances from East Sepik, Madang, Manus, Western, Sandaun and West Papua.
Grade 10 Student Jocelyn Kulangil from Sothern Highlands won the Miss Tumbana Bilas contest.
The first runner-up was Pauline Pasbon from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Second runner-up was Thelma Matbob from Madang.