16/09/2026
Called to Stewardship and Responsible Freedom:
DBTI Celebrates PNG’s 51st Independence Mass –
By: Ms Rosemary Kase
PORT MORESBY — In celebration of Papua New Guinea's 51st Independence Day, the Don Bosco Technological Institute (DBTI) community gathered for a solemn Holy Eucharistic Celebration. The Eucharistic liturgy was presided over by Fr. Shoji Matthew, SDB, Rector of Savio Haus-Bomana, and concelebrated by Fr. Victor Kyanga, SDB. The mass challenged the congregation to move past surface-level festivities and look deeply at what truly makes the nation beautiful: its people and their moral responsibilities.
The True Beauty of Papua New Guinea
Fr. Shoji opened his homily by addressing a fundamental question: What makes Papua New Guinea good? While the country is rich in diverse cultures, stunning landscapes, and vast natural wealth, he reminded the assembly that a nation’s true value does not lie in its physical resources.
"Many things make PNG beautiful," Fr. Shoji noted, "but it is the people that make PNG beautiful." He emphasized that the heart of the country relies on human connection, dignity, and how citizens treat one another.
The Mandate of Inheritance: "When Do You Become Boss?"
Drawing on a powerful generational metaphor, Fr. Shoji shared the story of a father who leaves his land to his son. The father remarks, “Son, inherit the land of your father.” Yet, after many years pass, the father asks a critical, piercing question: “What have you done with the land you have?”
This story served as a direct lesson on leadership, growth, and accountability for young Bosconians. Fr. Shoji asked the students, "When do you become boss?" Becoming a leader or a "boss" does not mean simply demanding power or inheriting wealth blindly. True leadership is achieved only when an individual demonstrates active, honest stewardship and takes absolute responsibility for what has been entrusted to them by previous generations. Applying this to the day’s Gospel reading, Fr. Shoji delivered a sharp message on social justice: “If you get everything for yourself, another person will suffer.”
True freedom, he argued, is not the license to do whatever we want; it is responsible freedom—constantly ensuring that our actions leave room, resources, and space for our neighbors to survive and thrive.
A Lasting Reminder for Bosconians
In closing, Fr. Shoji left the DBTI students and staff with a powerful, enduring challenge centered on human sanctity and collective growth: “We may have everything, but if your life is taken away, you are nothing.”
