Gordons, Port Moresby: The Conference of Women Religious had a day of advent recollection at the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands on Saturday 27th November 2021.
The day of recollection focused on reconciliation and preparation during the season of advent, evaluating the Conference Pastoral Plan of PNGSI, identifying the cultural barriers to evangelization and discussing a way forward.
The program began with a communal reconciliation and confession followed by a group discussion, evaluation and presentations of the Conference Pastoral Plan.
The presentations highlighted some issues that hinder ministries in their evangelization programs.
Sr. Thecla Kakata MSC on behalf of her group during the presentations stressed on the issue of cultural barriers and the effect it has on the people.
“Despite PNG being a Christian nation, cultural barriers distract people from fully living out their Catholic faith as we are still deeply rooted in our culture and unfortunately, our people still hold onto some cultural practices that go against Christian Moral Principles,” she said.
Secretary of the Conference of Women Religious in Port Moresby Sr. Mary McCarthy pbvm thanked the participants on behalf of their congregations for the work that they have done by working together and helping people in the marginalized communities.
“A lot has been done by CWR and I thank everyone for their contribution in helping those living in our marginalized communities but a lot more still needs to be done so we still need to work together,” she said.
A final presentation giving an insight of the services provided by Callan Services and the recent renovations done to the facilities ended the presentations.
The program concluded with the planning of the next executive that will take over CWR responsibilities and duties from the current executive next year.