Archbishop of Port Moresby Archdiocese, John Ribatohas called onthe Members of Parliament to clean uptheir own filth instead of destroyingthe carvings atthe National Parliament.
He describedthe cleaning exercises as a disgrace tothe nation and its people.
Archbishop, John Ribatorepresentedthe Catholic Church andthe Churches Council in a media conference in Port Moresby today and saidthe removing of carvings and adornments at parliament house was a mockery to our rich culture and heritage.
He saidthese works of art representedthe people oPNG tothe outside world.
He futher added thatthe country was built on both Christian and traditional values as enshrined inthe constitution and even Jesus came from a culture and respected it.
Archbishop Ribat saidthe carvings didn’trsquo;t have blood inthem to talk and practice evil inthe house. He called onthe members to cleanthemselves instead of blamingthe carvings for the evil that’s inthe house.
He was also concerned thatthe Speaker did not seek audience fromthe mainline churches,the historians, anthropologists and educationists to get a balanced and better understanding as to why culture and traditions were important.
Reports from a daily newspaper indicated thatthe removal of carvings atthe parliament seem to be based onthe covernant signed in 2008 bythen Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare to allowthe God of Israel to bethe God oPNG. Consequently, an extra public Holiday calledthe Covernant Daywas added tothPNG calendar.
Now Archbishop Ribat saidthe Churches Council has formed a working committee to askthe Prime Minister to revisit and abolishthe Covernant DayPublic Holiday.
previous post