Pope brings in a ton of humanitarian aid, toys to remote Papua New Guinea

Clueless Pope. He has never seen the villages in the highlands where most of the population lives. I have. They don't play with western toys. Most of these remote places don't have electricity or running water. They live in huts on dirt trails and get by farming small plots and by hunting.

"Clueless Pope. He has never seen the villages in the highlands where most of the population lives. I have. They don't play with western toys. Most of these remote places don't have electricity or running water. They live in huts on dirt trails and get by farming small plots and by hunting." desert tortoise"

He might seems clueless to you, but what matters is the "thought" about the kids and the caring.

@Desert Tortoise The pope didn't choose the items! It says in the article a priest who works in the community did! All children play, even poor ones! I'm sure he didn't take along PlayStation!

His Holiness Pope Francis loves and respects the poor, the disabled, the elderly, the weak, the kids, the marginalized, the ostracized, the victimized, the exploited, and the poor - both at the center and in the peripheries. The tireless 87 years young Pope Francis is an inspiration to world leaders both young and the young at heart in the Global North, Global South, Global East and in the Global West.

A fan with the face of some old white man on it, the gift that everyone wants.

I struggle when visiting places of extreme poverty. Do I bring trinkets for kids or something useful? Even in places with most of the infrastructure that is better than PNG (or China), a simple gift of clothing or a strong tarp will be appreciated by most people and will last longer than plastic trinkets. There's a reason wooden toys are back for children. They can last multiple generations and be locally fixed (usually).

The Catholic Church is much better these days, but they have a long history of oppression and abuse to make up for. If you have to trick local people into coming to your religious service, perhaps it isn't such a great religion?

“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,” Francis said. 

What an odd thing to say. Who thinks of their homeland as "far away", or "situated at the end of the world"?

What an odd thing to say. Who thinks of their homeland as "far away", or "situated at the end of the world"?

The Australians. Ask them.

Dr.Cajetan CoelhoSep. 8  06:28 pm JST

His Holiness Pope Francis loves and respects the poor, the disabled, the elderly, the weak, the kids, the marginalized, the ostracized, the victimized, the exploited, and the poor - both at the center and in the peripheries. The tireless 87 years young Pope Francis is an inspiration to world leaders both young and the young at heart in the Global North, Global South, Global East and in the Global West.

Pope Francis has a long and colorful life history. He has seen, witnessed and underwent a lot of things during his 87 years. He himself was a victim of the fascist regimes that ruled his native Argentina. Whether you're Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox or Anglican, monotheistic or polytheistic, or even agnostic or an atheist - he has a message of love and mercy for all of us; and we need to hear it. And he is delivering the goods, by example and material goodies too.

Who thinks of their homeland as "far away", or "situated at the end of the world"?

Alaskans and people who live in rural Patagonia. Sometimes I feel that way in many parts of the USA too. There are places with huge areas with very, very, little population in many parts of the world. I suspect far northern Japanese can feel this way too.

Heck, there are parts of central Asia where I felt that way. At the time, I didn't know there was a city just over the next mountain, but the feeling of being far from civilization hit me like I was in rural northwestern Nebraska at 4 am on a bicycle needing to ride 4 hrs to get to a small town.