Community leaders trying to help overstayers allegedly defrauded

Community leaders trying to help overstayers allegedly defrauded by Mangere church

Thursday, March 25th, 2021

More than 100 Tongan overstayers are believed to be in hiding, too scared to ask for official help after allegedly being defrauded by a church leader.

Community leaders are now working to try and find a solution, so they can stay in New Zealand.

Tongan lawyer Nalesoni Tupou said he knew of many cases who were promised residency in exchange for cash by two men posing as immigration agents at a small church in Māngere.

However, after reporting the matter to the NZ Immigration Advisers Authority, Tupou said he had been unable to get any of the overstayers to speak out as they are too worried about the consequences of making themselves known. Read more

Additional reading

News category: New Zealand, News Shorts.

Tags: Tongan overstayers

The optimism of Timothy Radcliffe

Fr Timothy Radcliffe, the Dominican friar, was chosen by Pope Francis to lead the three-day retreat for all participants prior to the first assembly last October of the Synod on Synodality. This was a position of great trust given the Read more

Theologian: The future of the church is local

In Europe, the number of church members is declining – but Christianity remains strong worldwide. However, the structures do not remain stable, but are constantly changing. Thomas Schlag is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Zurich, where he Read more

The perils and necessities of saying ‘I don’t know’

When I was studying political science in graduate school, I was surrounded by students who were much smarter than me. Most of my fellow students at the University of California Berkeley went to Ivy League schools as undergraduates. They were Read more

Survey: New priests are young and involved in their community

The incoming class of seminarians who will be ordained in 2024 is young and involved in their community, an annual survey released April 15 found. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned the Center for Applied Research (CARA) at Georgetown Read more

CathNews New Zealand