Kundiawa: The Catholic Church in the Highlands Region met in the Diocese of Kundiawa in Simbu Province for the regional bishops and secretariat conference that was held from 21st to 23rd March 2022.
It was held at the Mingende Pastoral Centre and had the presence of bishops and secretaries from the five dioceses of the Highlands Region, which is made up of the Archdiocese of Mt Hagen, Dioceses of Kundiawa, Goroka, Mendi and Wabag.
The bishops and secretaries met to discuss the work and responsibilities of each commission at the regional levels.
Representatives from each diocese were grouped into each commission area such as Caritas, Marriage and Family Life office, Laity, Health, Education, Vocation, Callan Service, Youth, Woman and Pastoral Coordinators. They shared their achievements and plans for the betterment of the church in the region. The lived experiences shared by each group brought a clear picture of the pilgrimage of the church in the highlands region.
On the last day, the participants were led into the action plan for their commission in the future. Each group presented their action plan and pledged to carry out their plan at their appointed time and space.
The closing mass was presided by Rev. Bp Donald of the Diocese of Mendi and concelebrated by His Grace Archbishop Douglas Young of the Archdiocese of Mt Hagen and was offered for the intention of peace in Ukraine and Russia.
In his homily, Bp Donald shared that Jesus is more powerful than devil. He said, the devil has never defeated Jesus and with Jesus we have to eradicate evil in our family, community, diocese, country and world, especially Ukraine and Russia.
In place of prayers of the faithful, Abp. Douglas prayed the prayer of Pope Francis for the dedication of Russia and Ukraine to the most Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The participants learned a lot from the gathering of bishops and secretariats as the discussions were very meaningful to grasp the clear picture of the church of the highlands region. The realization of the strengths and weaknesses of each commission area gives us more energy to work more with understanding.
The day ended with the recitation of the general assembly prayer.
ENDs//
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