I share these ideas with fathers, brothers and sisters, not necessarily ordained or professed, who share their efforts and our lives in Aitape Diocese.
We all have our commitments and responsibilities, and for many there are families to feed and educate. We live beside government and business and village folk, relating well, but we live our own way; our buying, our dwelling, our eating, even our dressing.
Mostly we talk about what we might like to change but cannot. But situations arise where it is good to grasp our circumstances....like at our Finance and Planning Committee meeting Tuesday 1st May. A few of us meet each Tuesday and monitor operations which affect departmental and pastoral routines. Bishop sits in if he's home and Fr. Greg comes as Vicar General. Acting Diocesan Manager Job Tomur chairs the session, with Julian and I from Finance and Resource Office and Belid who was still away at DWU, Madang.
It rose this way, Julian raised a last agenda point (APPRAISALS). Since the retrenchment exercise of June 2006, most staff have been reduced to base level for a period of review, on the understanding that this review would show who gets recognised for special performance, who continues as a valued staff member, or perhaps is even reduced. We saw the problem, we have no reserve resources to shuffle, to implement this.
This week we owe K30, 000 and our staff have been lax about posting invoices, while plenty of friends owe us money, they all have excuses not to repay.
A challenge stares at us and, to put it off, we would be wasting our time.
So we look at our options, first of which is to share the strain and the pain with YOU.
Before we cry and call for outside help, let's look to ourselves and involve our own people...YOU.
It does not help that we are a bit slow to send invoices...to claim our debts. We let debtors think MISIN IGAT PLANTI MONI...let's be frank!
We must crawl before we walk, and walk before we run...drive before we fly, and walk before we drive. Or if the diocese does not fit our priorities we leave it. (This might say that it is ourselves who don't fit). But the priorities. Money? Yes it is okay to have plenty, but it's not the name of our game. The quality of each of our departments or parishes is not built on cash but on our spirit and quality control; our MISSION STATEMENT.
Would you remember Fr. Gerald Walsh ofm, who died some years ago? Through the 1960's as our Vicariate became a Diocese, this young procurator built its infrastructure. He dealt with our colonial government, keen to use our staff to build health and schools ready for Independence. With their government subsidies and our people he succeeded well.
Through the 70's, after Fr. Gerald, we coasted along, but by the 80's we were deeply in debt, lacked the means to balance our budget, and has now run almost twenty-five years, drawing our project funds from Europe and North America. Where do we go from here? Have we the management ready to continue the travel and public relations? Have we the justifications to seek further outside help. Have we new talent available? Any volunteers!
Still a new prospect is within PNG. One door opens as another shuts. Funds are forming within PNG but frustrated by wantokism and fraud. Now that DOA is nationally registered (Aitape Development Foundation), and our operations are transparent, we could address this prospect. This would test our tenacity.
We happily are blessed with healthy tensions; between too much management and too little. Squabbling would kill our best efforts. Let's each focus on weeding our own garden till both sides of our fence are weed-free.
But so much for grand coordinated plans. Maybe our real success might be individual, where we each follow our love for our diocese, follow our mission statement and do what we positively can in our own department, pastoral work or just our own job or our outreach. How many of us read this? Let's keep our thoughts to ourselves. But do our own bit for DOA.
By Fr. Timothy Elliott, ofm
Vicar for Finance