Pope Francis traveled to one of the most remote regions on the planet Sunday to call for an end to religion-based tribal violence that has claimed thousands of lives in the past 20 years.
Toting toys, medicine and musical instruments, the 87-year-old pontiff was greeted by tens of thousands of faithful in the costal town of Vanimo in Papua New Guinea after a flight from the capital city of Port Moresby.
Among those on hand to greet the pope were bare-chested Walsa tribesmen in traditional garb including body paint and headdresses who performed a ceremonial dance in his honor.
Francis donned a traditional headdress made with Bird of Paradise feathers which was presented to him as a gift as he spoke to the assembled masses.
“You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world,” the pope said.
“Today, the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the center of his heart and that each one of you is important to him,” he said, according to NBC.
More than 10 million people call the South Pacific region home. About a quarter of them, or 2.5 million, are Catholic, according to data from the Vatican.
The country’s indigenous religions include beliefs in witchcraft and animism, which are often practiced right alongside Catholic. These deeply held customs have at times led to bloodshed akin to witch trials in which mobs accuse locals — typically women — of practicing black magic before horrifically executing them.
Australian researchers estimate about 3,000 such deaths have occurred over the past two decades, France24 reports.
In his remarks to the crowd, the pope urged Papuans to “overcome divisions” both tribal and personal and “to drive out fear, superstition and magic from people’s hearts.”
Such evils “imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters even in this country,” Francis said.
“Make Papua New Guinea famous not only for its variety of plant and animal life, its enchanting beaches and clear sea, but famous above all for the good people you meet here.”
The pontiff visited Papua New Guinea after a stop in Indonesia. On Monday, he will visit East Timor before concluding his Southeast Asia tour with a trip to Singapore.
