Witch hunts have been condemned by the president of the Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Arnold Orowae.
“I encourage all our citizens not to get into this bad habit of accusing innocent and defenceless people of sorcery, resulting in torturing and killing,” said Bishop Arnold Orowae.
“This is a moral evil that should not be practiced,” he added.
Orowae is the Bishop of Wabag, the capital of Enga province in Papua New Guinea’s highlands.
He said the accused are often women who are vulnerable and defenceless.
“People run around aimlessly taking pleasure in accusing, torturing, and even killing them.”
“In this age and time we cannot continue to act and behave like barbaric people who have no respect for life and who kill to protect their territories.”
In the past decade in Papua New Guinea, hundreds of men, women and children have been accused of witchcraft or sorcery, and publicly tortured and murdered by vigilante mobs.
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