(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has named Archbishop Michael W. Banach the apostolic
nuncio in Papua New Guinea. Archbishop Banach previously served as nuncio in the nearby
Solomon Islands.
Papua New Guinea is located in the Pacific Ocean, north of
Australia. It claimed independence from Australia and became a country of the Commonwealth,
with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, in 1975. Its population is estimated
at 6.3 million.
The 2000 census indicates that 96 per cent of the population
is Christian. The largest church is the Catholic Church, to which 27 per cent of the
population claims affiliation.