Pope Francis emphasized the importance of a Catholic Church serving marginalized communities as he concluded his first full day in Papua New Guinea on Saturday, as part of a lengthy Asia tour.

Pope Francis said the world needs to address climate change while visiting the Pacific Island nation of Papua New Guinea, which is partly endangered by a rising Pacific Ocean.

Over mountains, by air, and by sea, pilgrims have flocked to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea's capital where Pope Francis landed late Friday on a landmark visit. With "the presence of the Pope in our land,

Pope Francis’s visit to Papua New Guinea will take him to a remote part of the South Pacific island nation where Christianity is a recent addition to traditional spiritual beliefs developed over mille

His homily carried a familiar theme of his papacy – bringing those on the 'periphery' closer to faith. Read more at straitstimes.com.

In his homily, the Pope drew on the day’s Gospel reading about Jesus healing a deaf man, to emphasize the importance of overcoming distance from God and others, prompting the faithful to reflect on their own relationships.

Pope Francis boarded an Australian Royal Air Force C-130 on Sunday and flew over the pristine jungles of Papua New Guinea, travelling to the faraway settlement of Vanimo as the 87-year-old continues reaching out to what he likes to call the “peripheries” of the Catholic Church.

Francis was elected pope largely on the strength of a speech he gave to his fellow cardinals in 2013 about the need for the church to go out to the 'peripheries'” where people need God most