Welcoming to All

Claudia Torres

The Archbishop of Port Moresby, Cardinal John Ribat, MSC, travelled from Papua New Guinea to Rome to attend Pope Francis’ funeral and participate in the conclave which elected Pope Leo XIV. The Missionary of the Sacred Heart shared his first impressions and hopes for the new Pontiff, as well as his gratitude for the late Pope Francis, who travelled to Papua New Guinea in September of 2024, less than a year before his death, showing his closeness to people in even the most remote parts of the world. Cardinal Ribat shared that his hope for Pope Leo XIV is “that he’ll continue in that direction, reaching out to the Church, churches throughout the world”. He hopes that by doing so he will be able to lead “in confidence to live our faith in this very challenging time, and stand for the truth — and our truth and our hope is Christ himself — in this very fast-changing world”.

Reflecting on the recent conclave, Ribat expressed his joy at having had the opportunity to participate. “I’m grateful that I was here to represent the Church of Papua New Guinea-Solomon Islands, but also as a religious representing the MSCs in the world”. The Cardinal said seeing Pope Leo’s reaction upon being elected as the new Pontiff filled him with hope for the future: “He was open and welcoming everyone and smiling to all”. It was Ribat’s first conclave, and he shared that although he and many other first-timers didn’t know what to expect, the atmosphere was one of collaboration and fraternity. “I saw clearly how the Spirit worked at this time”, he affirmed. “It was very joyful seeing all the cardinals together, but at the same time, all of us were wondering because we knew that — many of us — we had never met before, and our gathering at this time was the first time that we have met. And that itself is an experience that brought us together, hopeful that this will bring us to a point where we will be truly united in our work”.

In fact, he shared a sentiment he said was common among the cardinals: “It is very important that we, as cardinals, come together with the Pope... to help him in the peripheries, without leaving anyone behind, but to bring us all in together to be united as Church, from different parts of the world”. Cardinal Ribat thus hopes that there will be even more collaboration among the cardinals in the future, to address the Church’s most pressing challenges.

For instance, he said that for the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC), one of the main challenges is a decrease in vocations among young people. New Zealand and Australia, he said, are the hardest hit so far, but he explained that Papua New Guinea is also starting to see a decrease. Ribat attributes this to a lack of ongoing formation into adulthood. “Our formation with our youths ends with confirmation. Once there is the confirmation, after that, they’re on their own. And they are left to the way things are going at this time, to social media and all other sorts of communication”. It’s but one of countless challenges Pope Leo will have to address as the new leader of the Catholic Church.

But Cardinal Ribat remains hopeful about the new Successor of Peter. He noted that Pope Leo XIV’s studies, his work in Rome as the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops from January 2023 until his election on 8 May 2025, and his missionary experience in Peru, where he spent about two decades between 1988 and 2023, will help him “to take on this job as the leader of the Church throughout the world”. Ribat explained, “I see this as a good experience for him, to understand both sides: the missionary side of the Church, but also the main centre here and the administration here in Rome”.

As for Pope Leo’s Augustinian charism, the Cardinal said it was good that he chose a charism that inspired him “to want to become a priest following Saint Augustine’s spirituality”, which is characterized by a commitment to service. Speaking from his own experience in the field, the Papua New Guinean Missionary of the Sacred Heart said that the same spirit of Saint Augustine that drove Pope Leo in Peru “will drive him also throughout the world, to be able to lead the world at this time. It’s not a different Spirit; it’s the same one”.