Pope calls pastors in Papua New Guinea to be close to the peripheries

PORT MORESBY – Pope Francis told bishops, clergy and religious in Papua New Guinea Saturday to be close to those on the peripheries and to continue spreading hope, despite the challenges and misunderstandings they may face.

Speaking inside Port Moresby’s Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, the pope told pastors to “focus their work on the peripheries of this country.”

“I think of people belonging to the most deprived segments of urban populations, as well as those who live in the most remote and abandoned areas...