Pope Francis had announced it on TV by Fabio Fazio and now it's official: next August he will go to Papua New Guinea, practically on the other side of the planet. At 87, he is ready for the longest trip of his pontificate: over 30 hours of flight, enduring a time difference of nine hours. The ten-day program should also include, according to La Croix, East Timor and Indonesia.
New Guinea has been in his plans for a long time. He wants to visit this part of the world because it is considered the most evident frontier of climate change with many small islands already submerged by rising waters. Global warming is melting the polar ice. The Carteret Islands, for example, were the first site in the world where all residents, several years ago, had to migrate en masse: the first climate migrants - according to the UN definition - forced to move under the growing threat of waters that risk swallowing houses and crops. The papal trip was announced by the Papua government. In recent days, Prime Minister James Marape received an official note from the Vatican confirming the plans previously drawn up. The last pope to have set foot there was John Paul II in 1995.
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The Pope of Laudato Si is eagerly awaited in Port Moresby, the capital, where he will arrive by plane. I wonder if he has taken into account the CO2 emissions since the plane is the form of transport that produces the most greenhouse gases: in the 32 hours of flight, he will produce emissions equivalent to those of a man in an entire year.
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The visit had been planned for years but then canceled due to the pandemic. There Pope Francis will find Cardinal John Ribat, Archbishop of Port Moresby 67 years old, native of New Britain. In his native village, the French missionaries had founded the first parish of Papua New Guinea. He is known for his commitment to the environment and for having defended the Pacific island nations submerged by the waters. Some time ago, in an interview, he said that for him living celibacy is a challenge. "For me, the thought of having a wife, in life, will always be there, and a challenge that I must face until death. And I talk about it with the priests, and I also work with the seminarians, and this is what I talk about. How do we see this gift given by God for us? How do we see giving life to others and building the community and unity we want to see?"
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