Deceased Bishops remembered during a special mass

Alexishafen, Madang: Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands were remembered during a special mass held in their memory on Thursday May 7, 2025.

From left to right: His Lordship Bishop Justin Ain Soongie, His Grace Archbishop Emeritus Douglas Young SVD and His Lordship Bishop Otto Separy.

The mass was presided over by the Archbishop Emeritus of Mount Hagen Douglas Young SVD. Joining him as concelebrants were His Lordship Auxiliary Bishop Justin Ain Soongie from Wabag Diocese and His Lordship Bishop Otto Separy from Bereina Diocese.

Archbishop Emeritus opened his homily inviting the Bishops to look to the past with gratitude, and to the future with hope so that we can live in the present with enthusiasm.

 “So, we remember our predecessors with gratitude; we pray for the Cardinals in conclave in the hope of their election of a pope who manifests the qualities expressed in the prayers of this Mass: a pastor, holy, with watchful care, presiding, and a shepherd who will instruct”

“Each one of us bishops can recall our own local histories, especially the stories of our predecessors, their achievements and failures, their experiences of encouragement and discouragement. But history shows us that evil does not have the last word. Out of suffering comes victory. In Christ, the power of the cross means that what seems like failure is transformed into abundance through faithfulness. What seemed like a total disaster has borne fruit in a flourishing local church. The sufferings of our predecessors places our own troubles in context. Although many of us have lost churches to warfare and violence, we have not had to witness our cathedral being destroyed. Although we are very aware of violence resulting in death from SARV and intergroup conflict, we have not had to witness cold-blooded murder before our eyes.  The fruits of their suffering can be the foundation for our own hope. Our failures will fade in memory and our achievements, especially our faithfulness will live on”.

It was a beautiful and somber moment as each Bishop called out the names of the deceased Bishops of their dioceses in memory of their contribution to evangelizing in the Church of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.