Thursday, December 22, 2016

Meet the priest who serves the most rural parts of Papua New Guinea

In the deep Melanesian jungles, a native Papua New Guinea Catholic
priest walks miles through the deep thick forests.

He scales the
country’s steep mountainous terrain to reach his remote flock and serve
in the poorest parishes every weekend.“These people live in a difficult and rugged terrain. God has put
them there. It is their home. All the material used to build their
church was carried by their grandfathers on their shoulders. They are
proud to have the presence of the Church in their area,” said Fr.
Christian Sieland of the Kundiawa Diocese of Papua New Guinea.

“Many have only a few pieces of clothes or just enough money to get
through the week. They may be poor, but they acknowledge all the
blessings God has given them,” Fr. Sieland told CNA.

“They don’t starve because God has given them a fertile soil where
almost everything can be grown. They don’t thirst because God has given
them clean and fresh mountain streams nearby to fetch water from.”

The priest had high praise for the hospitality of these Catholics.

“When I as their parish priest go into their homes for a visit or
even stay overnight with them, they give me the biggest plate full of
food, they let me sleep in their best beds under mosquito nets. The care
and respect given to a priest in those remote areas sometimes really
touches me and makes me at times even feel embarrassed,” he said.

“But how can you refuse such gestures of hospitality from simple
believing people? They don’t have much to offer, but when they offer you
the little they have, it comes from deep within their hearts.”

About 30 percent of the diocese’s 375,000 people are Catholic. The
diocese’s territory includes Mt. Wilhelm, the country’s highest mountain
at nearly 14,800 feet. Some parts are so remote that people have never
seen a car.

Fr. Sieland reflected on his mission.

“My motivation is simple. If I as an ordained priest don’t go to
these people, who else will?” he asked. “Wasn’t I ordained for this
purpose, namely to bring the sacraments to the people and to nourish
them with spiritual food, i.e. the Word of God, and the Eucharist? No
priest means no Eucharist, no confession, no sacraments at all. If I
don’t go, then I am depriving them of their God-given right to receive
all the spiritual food and blessings.”“How am I going to justify myself before God for not ‘feeding his
lambs, tending his sheep and feeding his sheep?’,” he said, citing
Jesus’ words to St. Peter.

“Even if there were only 10 old people to be visited, I would still
walk and climb the mountains and cross the rivers to be with them.”

The Papua New Guinea government has not been to the region in more than 40 years, since independence in 1975.

“But the Church has been there ever since the first missionaries from
the Society of the Divine Word started to evangelize the people in the
early 1930s and 1940s,” Fr. Sieland said.“When you see the simple and yet deep faith of the people, and
compare it to your own belief which is adorned with certificates,
diplomas and degrees, then you begin to appreciate the simple faith of
the ‘little ones’ all the more.”

In recent decades, permanent churches have been built. The Catholic
Church in Papua New Guinea is transitioning from a missionary phase,
though some changes have come too soon.

“Traditional and western modern values are clashing right now and the
younger generation seem a bit lost or confused,” Fr. Sieland said.
“Good traditional values that are similar to certain Gospel values are
slowly disappearing. In 20 years’ time they will be gone for good.”

The numbers of foreign missionaries, especially from Europe, have
dropped considerably.

Even with the help of missionaries from Australia,
Poland, India, and Indonesia, local clergy still cannot staff all the
areas their predecessors vacated.

“Most of the Catholic parishes cover huge areas,” the priest
reported. “Even in the remotest of areas, you will find a small Catholic
Church building and maybe even an elementary or primary school and an
aid post.”

The priest said that the government should be providing basic services, but the churches have had to fill the gap.

Despite efforts to promote Catholic values at parish schools, the
country still faces many challenges posed by western lifestyle, mobile
phone technology and internet access.

“One of the greatest challenges is the loss of Gospel values such as
honesty, transparency, respect, love, commitment and dedication in
family, in marriage, in the parish, at school, outside of school,” Fr.
Sieland said.

Many teachers lack a stable marriage life and face problems with debt
or alcohol. Some mismanage the schools’ money. Many students, for their
part, disrespect teachers and some use alcohol or marijuana, often
affecting their performance at school.

There are also major problems deeply rooted in Melanesian culture.
Polygamous relationships have proved very hard to eradicate. There is
also a clash between Christianity and traditional beliefs about sorcery.

“If people get sick and die, especially if they are a young,
energetic and educated persons, people speak of ‘sanguma’ or sorcery,”
the priest said. “We still have a lot of sorcery related violence and
killings in Papua New Guinea, especially in our own province.”

“The local church tries everything to challenge this kind of belief,
educate the people and eradicate belief in sorcery, but it won’t happen
just from one day to the next. It takes time.”