Port Moresby: “If we are to really build the church, we have to build it with God at its centre because there is nothing impossible when God is beside us,” said Bishop of the Diocese of Lae, Rozario Menezes SMM.
His response came after a brief interview on Tuesday 29th June 2021, regarding challenges currently facing evangelization in the Diocese.
According to Bp Rozario, his primary responsibility was to support his people and this meant building the Church with God as its epicentre. “When we have God at the centre of our Church, we can lead our people to reach God’s Kingdom. Without God at the centre or our Church surrounding God, then not much of anything can be achieved,” he said.
He stated very clearly that although many different types of efforts could be attempted and made, without the grace of God little could be accomplished. “Nothing is impossible for God when we put Him at the centre of our Church. Talking about the importance of Sacrament of marriage, he said, “This is why blessing the marriage in the Church is important because when a couple decides to accept the Sacrament of Marriage, when they take this oath, this means they are accepting God into their life.”
He noted how it was an advantage for most parishes that were located in the town to have their events covered via Radio and Social Media, but stated that the diocese’s main concern was on those parishes situated in the rural areas of the province who did not have access. “The privileges in town of knowing what is happening in the Church should be the same as those in the villages, but because of Social Media and the Internet, our people are not willing to spend time in writing an article and giving it out,” he added.
Emphasizing on the vital role youths played in the Church, Bp Rozario challenged young people to discipline themselves by living according to the standards of God in order for them to truly experience a change in attitude and mindset. He said that though there were challenges, youths played a key role in addressing them and helping evangelization take effect in Lae. “Our youths are very active, with many of them educated and reaching Grade 12, and thanks to the dedication of Fr Brian Nonde, CMM many of them have undergone upskill training to improve dissemination of the Church’s stories and events,” he explained.
To improve approaches in Evangelization, he reassured that a Diocesan Pastoral Plan was currently in formation and would be announced shortly in future.
