KELA KAPKORA SIL BOLKIN
LIFE is getting acutely more dreadful each passing day in Papua New Guinea and this has finally pushed some morally upright people’s civic virtue to the cliff-edge.
It seems that pious papists are now willing to be two-faced, just like most of the fat cats, arrow men (police) and their Asian masters.
In fact, some devout people have begun to craft bizarre techniques to make ends meet. One such group is a gang of Catholic mothers in Morata, along with their padre.
Instead of doing something useful in their houses such as sewing clothes and baking scones, or fishing and gardening in the Morata Swamps, we hear they have been instructed by the parish priest to visit families in their homes and pray for them in return for money.
The pious ones also venture into other suburbs of Port Moresby to pray to national politicians and bureaucrats of state entities and beseech the Lord to extend their tenure in exchange for money.
Being conservative Catholics and having all the sacraments required of a Catholic, they also come to our area for prayers in the evenings, with or without invitation.
Just recently two came and prayed in our area and on the table, before the prayer, we had some money in an envelope as an offering. The pair were exceptionally prayerful and we concluded on a high note.
At the closure, the mothers interpreted what they saw in their mind’s eye during prayer. They smiled and told us that whilst praying they saw a handsome bearded white man looking at us. The man had an infinite smile and so they assured us of good things coming our way from heaven. We were led to believe that the white man was Jesus, or maybe an angel from heaven.
A few months later our area invited the two mothers back but this time we had no money on the table. The elderly one refused to pray and asked the younger novice to do so instead. The old woman remained silent throughout and at the conclusion there was no vision to interpret for us.
With a cold hard face, she was quick to leave our house and our area. We could tell she was not happy.
A member from our precinct escorted the mothers to the main road and bought them some betel nut. Whilst they were chewing, the novice pulled the member to the side and whispered that the elderly mother refused to pray because we had no offer money for her to collect.
Anyhow, a few days later a Kange friend, who finished university a few years ago and can’t find a job, wanted some people to pray for him and slough away any witch spell that hovered over him. He asked if we knew some people who had spiritual gifts who could pray for him and cleanse him.
We told our Kange friend that some Catholic mothers normally went around praying so would arrange a time for them to see him.
We found the novice and asked if the mothers could come and pray for our friend and explained the reason. The young woman discreetly said that we needed to put money on the table this time.
She said that this particular elderly mother prayed to all classes of people including the chief executive officer of the country and that she was used to collecting huge amounts of money and giving it to the parish priest.
The novice continued that the money collected from prayer visits was always given to the parish priest but the padre never announced the collections at the conclusion of mass each week.
Upon hearing of this oration from the young woman, we were particularly upset.
On the eve of national electioneering, it seems these mothers have been given a decree to increase their visits to intending candidates and tell them that heaven has confirmed their election victory. It is apparently a simple way to make a fortune for themselves and the padre.
We believe the parish priest gave instructions to these gullible mothers to drop their household chores and go around praying and advocating feel good promises in exchange for money.
It is also true that other mothers are running around trying to cook up something from the existing Catholic network to make money to get their own heads above the daily scourge of poverty and violence.
Such fleecing should be sieved out immediately, whether it is a decree from the padre or of the mothers own doing.
Close to half the people in the settlements are poor and cannot afford be fleeced to further fork out family money to these two-faced papists.
We call upon those in Port Moresby’s Roman citadels to drive out such cults by sassy mothers and miserable padres.
On the whole, prayers should be prayers and not involve an exchange of money.