Pope to meet Papua New Guinean Catholics who adhere to both Christianity and indigenous beliefs

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea will take him to a remote region of…

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Pope Francis’ visit to Papua New Guinea will take him to a remote part of the South Pacific island nation where Christianity is a recent addition to traditional spiritual beliefs developed over millennia.

Francis will visit the diocese of Vanimo on New Guinea’s main island, one of the most remote and deprived in a poor and diverse nation, according to local Bishop Francis Meli.

Modern amenities are scarce. The more than 120,000 people who live in the diocese have no access to running water, according to the church’s website. Electricity is a luxury for the few who can afford solar panels or portable generators.

The visit is an extraordinary religious moment in a region where Christian missionaries only arrived in 1961 and where religion coexists with traditional ancestor worship, animism and witchcraft.

The pope will meet with about a dozen missionary nuns and priests from his native Argentina during his planned visit on Sept. 8. He will also visit a high school built by the church and a crisis center for abused women and girls.

Argentine missionary Tomas Ravaioli, a priest of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, said he came to the diocese of Vanimo 14 years ago after his superiors told him there was “a great need for priests.”

Even though Christian churches are full, “indigenous customs and traditions are very deep-rooted,” Ravaioli said.

“Sometimes for people it’s not easy to live Christianity 100 percent because they have traditions that are pagan,” Ravaioli said.

“But honestly, I think Christianity here in Papua New Guinea is very, very strong,” he added.

Papua New Guinea is a predominantly Christian country (a 2000 census showed that 96% of the population identified with that religion), but spiritual beliefs that have developed over 50,000 years of human habitation are still an integral part of the country’s culture.

Michael Mel, 65, is a university professor who was baptized as a baby by one of the first missionaries to reach his village in the remote highlands. An Indigenous man, he also says he “aligns” with traditional spirituality and warns against abandoning Indigenous culture.

“Western civilization is great. The West brought us reading, writing, technology and everything else, but there are certain areas where I think our sensibilities were much better,” Mel said, citing the protection of indigenous forests as an example.

Mining has widened the country’s economic divide and pitted the rich against the poor.

“We have to find a balance. We can’t just throw our knowledge away and accept Western civilization in its entirety,” Mel said.

But traditional beliefs may also contribute to the deadly tribal violence that creates an unprecedented internal security threat across the country, particularly allegations of witchcraft, known in local languages as sanguma.

Witchcraft accusations usually arise in response to unexpected deaths or illnesses. But some suspect they also reflect jealousies and rivalries born of major societal changes in recent decades, which have more to do with rapid modernization and uneven development than with religion.

As traditional bows and arrows are replaced by more lethal assault rifles, the toll of fighting has been rising and police fear they will be overwhelmed by other law enforcement agencies. Mercenaries have also become commonplace in conflicts once confined to tribal rivals.

“Even though they believe in God and Jesus Christ, … they fear witchcraft,” said Bishop Meli, who was born east of Vanimo, on an island off New Britain.

Authorities do not condone the persecution of suspected witches. In 2013, parliament repealed the Witchcraft Act, which made a charge of witchcraft a partial defense to a murder charge. But a study found that prosecutions for violence against accused witches remain rare compared to the commonplace nature of witch hunts.

Land ownership is another persistent source of conflict. In Papua New Guinea, almost all land is held customarily, meaning it belongs to a distinct tribe or group, not to individuals. In the absence of clear boundaries between customary lands, land disputes regularly lead to violence.

The two causes are part of a complex mix of causes blamed for the massacre in East Sepik province, east of Vanimo, on July 17, when 30 men armed with guns, axes, spears, knives and slingshots hurling sharpened steel rods killed at least 26 villagers.

Four weeks later, police announced the arrest of only one suspect. They still hope that the other perpetrators will be found. UNICEF said 395 survivors of the attack, including 220 children, were still homeless more than a month after the attack, their homes having been burned down.

Meli said tribal violence was not a problem in his diocese, where he described the population as “friendly and peaceful.”

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape welcomed the attention the papal visit would bring to his country, noting that 80 members of the international media had registered to travel there for the event.

Marape said South Pacific leaders he met at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga in late August had offered to send delegations to meet the pontiff.

He also pointed out that Catholics were the largest Christian denomination in Papua New Guinea. According to a 2011 census, Catholics made up 26% of the population.

“We are looking forward to this visit,” Marape told The Associated Press in Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga.

The Vatican is pushing Papua New Guinea onto the international stage at a time when the United States and China are competing for strategic influence over the former World War II battleground.

The United States and its close ally Australia, concerned about China’s growing influence in the South Pacific, have struck new security deals with Papua New Guinea. The latest Australian deal addresses Port Moresby’s concerns about worsening internal security problems. China is also reportedly seeking a bilateral policing agreement with Papua New Guinea.

The Vatican has been trying for years to improve relations with China, which were officially severed more than seven decades ago when the Communists came to power. A new agreement between China and the Vatican on the appointment of Chinese bishops is expected to be signed in October.

Bishop Meli said the faithful of his diocese were surprised to be included in the itinerary of the first visit by a pontiff to Papua New Guinea since Pope John Paul II in 1995.

“They are very excited and people are full of jubilation and joy because it is historic,” Meli said.

“They don’t think that any pope in history can return to Vanimo,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Charlotte Graham-McLay in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, contributed to this report.

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This story corrects the spelling of the priest’s name to Ravaioli instead of Ravailoli.