When it comes to religious tattoos, the New Zealand-born Samoan Wallaby rugby star Digby Ioane got it pretty much covered. Ioane, a Catholic, has turned his body into a work of art by decorating it with religious symbols alongside emblems of his homeland, Australia, and his family, plus a couple of exotic asides. The result Read more
The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre is engaging churches to help spread its message. Approximately 30 pastors, priests, pundits and Imams have been invited to attend a two-day awareness workshop in Nadi to help them better understand gender related violence. As a part of the workshop, the religious leaders will be expected to examine their own religious Read more
In Tonga, the ancient ritual of “Uiui Tevolo” which means “calling up the dead” or more literally “calling up the devil”, has been regarded as something of pagan origin unacceptable to churches and Christians in general. However, in recent weeks there has been a sort of revival of this ancient ritual among some villagers in Read more
About 100 Catholics from around Fiji attended a one-day Columban Companions in Mission (CCIM) workshop at Corpus Christi Teachers College in Suva last Saturday to fundraise and learn more about the work their missionary brothers and sisters do. “There are a lot of challenges that the missionaries face when they go on missions and the Read more
The 21 year old Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women and Girls (the Network) has been hold its 6th regional meeting in Nadi Last Wednesday the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre used the meeting to launch the One Billion Rising campaign. Women from Tonga, PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia participated in the launch, Read more
The link between respecting the environment and the sacramental life of the church is inseparable according to Bishop Bernard Unabali of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. He says he considers the link to be so unfaltering that when he baptizes a new member of the church or confirms someone or even when he ordains a priest, he Read more
Tonga’s auditor general, Pohiva Tu’I’Onetoa, is urging Liufau Saulala, a Auckland Tongan church leader, to resign after he invested Tokaikolo chuch funds into a failed investment scheme run by a New Zealander. Church members had been told by Saulala to raise more than $1 million to invest in a scheme organised by Nelson man, David John Hobbs. In Read more
In Fiji, Father Kevin Barr said two thirds of Fiji’s population are living in poverty or close to it. Representing the Peoples Community Network in a seminar titled “The Challenges of Poverty to the Constitution” held at the University of the South Pacific He said 60 per cent of the workers in full-time employment earned wages below Read more
The Central Body for the Fellowship of Baptist Churches has expressed alarm at the conduct of Indonesian security forces in Papua, according to a press release dated 01 November. Examples of crimes by the Indonesian security forces include: The bombing of the parliament Jayawijaya building on 1 September 2012 by OTK (Orang Tak Dikenal) the throwing Read more
Radio Australia reports that the processing of asylum seekers sent to Nauru by the Australian government “may be six months or more away yet”. This is according to a spokesperson for Australia’s Immigration Minister. Major Paul Moulds, of the Salvation Army, is quoted as saying that the uncertainty is having a detrimental effect on the Read more