PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) — Pope Francis called Saturday for the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea to be particularly close to women who have been abused and marginalized, speaking out in a country where violence against women is reported to be more than twice the global average.

Francis heard first-hand about the plight of women during his first full day in the South Pacific nation. A nun told him of the church’s work caring for women who have been attacked and accused of witchcraft and sorcery, and then shunned by their families.

“I think too of the marginalized and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition sometimes to the point of having to risk their lives,” Francis said. He urged the church to be particularly close to such people on the peripheries, with “closeness, compassion and tenderness.”

According to U.N. Women, 60% of Papua New Guinea’s women have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their lives, double the global average. Allegations of sorcery against women are common. Papua New Guinea ranked 151 out of 166 countries on the U.N. Development Program's gender inequality index in 2022.

Francis amended his remarks throughout the day to include reference to women after the governor general of Papua New Guinea, Bob Dadae, welcomed him to Papua New Guinea by calling for greater protection of women and respect for their rights.

Women “are the ones who carry the country forward, they give life, build and grow a country,” Francis said in his first ad-libbed speech to political leaders and diplomats. “Let us not forget the women who are on the front line of human and spiritual development.”

The issue of women and inequality is particularly fraught for the Catholic Church, given women are barred from the priesthood and are often treated as second-class citizens by the all-male hierarchy. Francis has denounced gender-based violence, appointed women to top Vatican positions and called for women to have greater decision-making roles in the church, but he has still reaffirmed the ban on women’s ordination.

It was an improvised first day of Francis’ visit, the second leg of a four-nation journey through Southeast Asia and Oceania that represents the longest and most challenging of his pontificate.

Dancers in swishing grass skirts performed for Francis to the thump-thump-thump of drums as he presided over a mix of political and church business. In his opening remarks, he called for an end to the tribal violence that has troubled the country for decades and for equitable, sustainable extraction of its resources.

Francis marveled at the diversity of Papua New Guinea’s people — there are some 800 languages spoken here — saying their variety must be “a challenge to the Holy Spirit, who creates harmony amid differences!”

But he also noted that such diversity has long created conflict, a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterized the country’s culture but have grown more lethal in recent years. Francis appealed for a sense of civic responsibility and cooperation to prevail, to benefit everyone.

“It is my particular hope that tribal violence will come to an end, for it causes many victims, prevents people from living in peace and hinders development,” he said.

But the issue of women as victims of violence and discrimination, including within the church, punctuated Francis' day, including when Francis met with local priests and nuns gathered at a Marian sanctuary.

Sister Lorena Jenal told Francis about an organization, House of Hope, that provides shelter to women accused of witchcraft and sorcery and works with community leaders to try to change attitudes about women.

She told him about one woman who was nearly burned to death and was shunned by her family, but was eventually welcomed back after the church intervened.

A Catholic mother of three, Grace Wrakia, addressed the gathering about her experience being named to participate in Francis’ big meeting in Rome last year on the future of the Catholic Church, where women were given equal voice and a vote for the first time in Vatican conversations.

She said the church in Papua New Guinea “should develop and use more of such conversation methods so that the wisdom of the simple people in our peripheries may be heard, respected and valued.”

“I long to see more men and women as partners,” she said.

A nun with the Sisters of Charity, Sister Genevie, was in the pews with other sisters and acknowledged the problem of violence and discrimination was real.

“In our country, men, they still hold onto leadership,” she told The Associated Press. “Mother Teresa told us to help the women.”

On his first day, Francis also called for fair and environmentally sustainable extraction of Papua New Guinea’s vast natural resources, which include gold, nickel and natural gas.

Francis, who has written entire encyclicals about the environment, has long insisted that development of natural resources must benefit local people, not just the multinational companies that extract them.

“These environmental and cultural treasures represent at the same time a great responsibility, because they require everyone, civil authorities and all citizens, to promote initiatives that develop natural and human resources in a sustainable and equitable manner,” he said.

Finally, Francis called for a “definitive solution” to the question of Bougainville, an island region whose people voted overwhelmingly to become independent from Papua New Guinea in 2019. The outcome of the nonbinding referendum has not been implemented.

Despite the rigors of the trip and jet lag — Papua New Guinea is eight hours ahead of Rome time — the 87-year-old Francis appeared in relatively good form, though he coughed throughout the day. He smiled and laughed as he handed out candies to young children who had performed for him, and even took a turn playing a kundu drum, a traditional hand-held hourglass-shaped drum that one group of children gave him.

He was warmly welcomed by crowds outside at each of his stops, with people young and old dressed in traditional grass skirts, face paint and headdresses dancing and singing. And several South Pacific leaders came to Port Moresby for the rare chance to greet the pope, including the prime minister of Vanuatu, the president of Nauru and the prime minister of Tonga.

Francis is the second pope to visit Papua New Guinea, after St. John Paul II visited first in 1984, then in 1995 to beatify Peter To Rot, a Catholic layman who was declared a martyr for the faith after he died in prison during World War II.

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