For the animation of parishes, schools and youth groups

By Fr. Ambrose Pereira, SDB

       Port Moresby, PNG, 18 February 2021 -- Papua New Guinea is blessed with the wonder and beauty of nature. We delight in watching the unique ‘bird of paradise,’ the beauty of the forest with its amazing flora and fauna and the crystal clean waters that teem with an abundance of fish. With the privileges that we enjoy comes a responsibility to care for the environment. We need to ensure that the wonder and the beauty of creation that we enjoy today, will be there for future generations and our children to enjoy.

       Care for creation is a constant theme in both the Old and New Testament. Scripture highlights creation and the need to live in harmony with everything around us. Environmental justice has been a repeated theme in the Social Doctrine of the Church. Care for the environment represents a challenge for all of humanity. Responsibility for the environment, the common heritage of mankind, extends not only to our present needs but also to those of the future.

       In ‘Laudato Si’ (2015) the Holy Father, Pope Francis summarizes the environmental issues, calls for a debate and invites us to look carefully at the reality of what is around us. In the context of development, we in Papua New Guinea, a country blessed with an abundance of natural resources, need to evaluate the impact of the many mining, fishing, logging and gas projects.

       Keep it clean. Go Green! with a target to plant 100,000 trees in Papua New Guinea has been the focus of the Catholic Bishops Conference. Some of the bishops have carried it forward. Over the past year 2020, the Catholic Bishops Conference have organized a variety of sessions. Some of these have been compiled together and together with other resources are published as this Laudato Si’ Resource Manual to assist our leaders and animators.

       The manual has been the work of Abigail Seta, Nigel Akuani, Rosemary Yambune and several others under the guidance of Fr Ambrose Pereira sdb, SOCOM secretary. Special thanks to MISSIO for the support to prepare and print these resources. May it serve to inspire all our young people who are concerned about our ‘Common Home’.

       “We are delighted to present Laudato Si, a resource manual for parishes, schools and youth groups. We do hope that these resources will be used to create an awareness of our present situation in Papua New Guinea. Caring for the beauty of nature, protecting and enhancing it is vital if the wonder and beauty of nature is to be enjoyed by future generations”, said Fr Ambrose Pereira sdb.

---

---