Have You Been To Papua New Guinea?

Have you been to Papua New Guinea? I have just come back. What can the Secretary General of the IRLA do in Papua New Guinea? Guess what? To promote religious freedom, of course, but was it useful or necessary? Papua New Guinea or PNG, has to face many challenges. It is a big island with more than 6.7 million inhabitants. Christianity is the religion of 97% of the population but there is a large variety of people, tribes, and languages. And periodically there are internal tensions and conflicts. It is a rich country but many of its citizens are poor and corruption is a real problem.

Religious freedom in PNG is flourishing.  Churches are contributing to the well being of people in developing Education, Health and Family life.  The authorities are well aware of that and favor their work.  Religious freedom is a fact and even the small Muslim minority has its mosque there.

Was it necessary to go to Papua New Guinea? Yes, for two reasons:
1. Religious freedom is fragile and needs to be promoted even in countries where it is respected; 2. Governments that protect religious freedom should be thanked and encouraged.

I arrived in Port Moresby flying from Sydney on Wednesday December 3. James Standish, our IRLA South Pacific Region Secretary General, was with me and the Regional President Dr. Barry Oliver joined us on Thursday. We were welcomed by Dr. Leigh Rice, the Religious Freedom leader there, who organized the Symposium. It was a good one. Two Ambassadors including the US Ambassador, two Ministers of the government, and representatives of the European Union, New Zealand and Australia attended. Several religious leaders, and among them the Catholic Bishop, had an active contribution.

The symposium was held in the beautiful Pacific Adventist University. The following day we went to the Port Moresby for the festival. It went well with a good program: songs, marching of Pathfinders and short speeches. We did not have the large crowd we expected, Friday at noon is not the best day and time, but the event went well. It was the first Festival and symposium ever held anywhere in the South Pacific region. It puts religious freedom on the spot.

The great news is that the first PNG religious Freedom Association was born. Sir Gibbs Salika, Deputy Chief Justice was elected President and Dr. Leigh Rice is the Secretary General. The members of the Board included a Bishop, a leader of the United Church, an Ambassador, and a Minister of government.

Plans have been made, before I left, to have another symposium or congress and a large gathering in August of 2015. Papua New Guinea is the country of the unexpected. Let’s hope we will be surprised again.

John Graz, Secretary General - International Religous Liberty Association