In Samoa, a Bill to prevent violence against women and children has been presented to Cabinet. Currently domestic violence comes under the Crimes Ordinance Act. But the Family Safety Bill aims to give more power to police, health officials and educators to prevent violence and rehabilitate victims. In an interview on Radio Australia International Lina Chang, Read more
A West Papuan Franciscan, Br Budi Hernawan, who used to head the Catholic Church’s office of Justice and Peace in Jayapura says Jakarta and the international community must take a different approach to the troubled region. Last week police violently broke up a Congress of indigenous leaders in Jayapura with unconfirmed reports of at least seven deaths and many Read more
Wednesday was a public holiday in Fiji to mark Diwali, “the Festival of Lights” which is celebrated with much fanfare because a significant number of Hindus live there and celebrate the festival with traditional good will and rituals. Such is the euphoria that even the non-Hindu population participate in fun and celebrations related to the festival Read more
All Pacific nations recently completed their Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The Cook Islands, Kiribati, PNG, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu all retain colonial-era anti-sodomy laws. Palau and Nauru have pledged to decriminalise homosexuality following the audit of their human rights as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) review. But Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Read more
Recently, the church in Fiji has carried out awareness programmes within their communities about the new translation of the Roman Missal which is expected to come into effect on November 29 this year. The current English translation has been in use since 1973. “The translation we know well is changing to reflect the latest Latin edition which Read more
The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne has called on the nation’s leaders to show great wisdom and compassion as they respond to the national and global effects of climate change. In his President’s Address to the 50th Synod of the Diocese of Melbourne on Wednesday, Archbishop Philip Freier highlighted the plight of Australia’s Pacific neigbours. “This month the Read more
The leader of Papua’s Baptist church says about one-thousand representatives of Papua’s 250 tribes were gathered at Cenderawasih University for the third West Papua National Congress. On Wednesday, the Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman says the university was surrounded by about two-and-a-half thousand Indonesian security personnel, both hidden and in cars. “Round the congress is police Read more
The annual Caritas Oceania forum, which began in Auckland on 3 October, was attended by representatives from eight different nations. About 25 people attended the week-long event, including representatives from Caritas Internationalis, and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – Asia. Many of the states represented, such as Tonga and Kiribati, are among the most vulnerable to Read more
The Fiji Literary Festival was held in Nadi from 2 to 9 October 2011. Speakers included Graham Davis, an independent Fiji-born journalist and publisher of the political blog Grubsheet, and Fiji Ministry of Information permanent secretary Sharon Smith-Johns. Both addressed issues regarding the role of the media in Fiji. Davis asked, “In reporting in Fiji which version Read more
The Australian Uniting Church support for Tuvalu is being provided through partnership with Christian Church of Tuvalu and in close contact with church leaders in Tuvalu. The population of Tuvalu is 11,500. The Church of Tuvalu is by far the largest church, 97% of the population. Besides the small Catholic Church, less than 0.5%, there are Read more