Lawyer Leulua’ialii Olinda Woodroffe says the recent decision by Samoa’s the court of appeal would be good lesson for the all church leaders to follow. “The churches take a lot of money from the people and we need to change the attitude of ministers,” she said. “They are not God. They go to church that Read more
Different churches in Samoa have their own systems for collecting money. So, to be fair, that has to take that into account when asking churches to pay tax. Samoa’s National Council of Churches does not have an official opinion on the plan by the Ministry of Revenue to tax pastors and clergy. “We will leave Read more
Reverend Opapo Soana’i Oeti says he plans to to take action in defamation after accusation made against him and his family in a FaceBook blog. The blog was also published in the Samoa Observer. Opapo is the father of Toaipuapuaga (Toa), the woman who is said to have received stigmata. He told the online news source Read more
The Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, in Hagåtña, Guam, incurred $1.9 million in new debt during the past two and a half years, and it is having difficulty paying it back. The cathedral has been placed in an internal receivership, which has taken over its financial management and operations to help pay off its Read more
Last Friday Pope Francis met the President of Fiji, Jioji Konousi Konrote, in a private audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Konrote presented Pope Francis with a lali (Fiji wooden gong) carved from a mahogany tree that once stood outside Fiji’s state-house that was destroyed by Cyclone Winston. “The wooden lali carving was symbolic to Read more
Samoa’s Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi helped raise $10,000 to send a young woman, who claims to the stigmata. to Rome. But Tuilaepa says there was no taxpayers’ money involved. Continue reading
Miracle water from a Fijian village that is proclaimed as the Lourdes of the Pacific has been banned from being brought into New Zealand unless treated. A Ministry of Primary Industries’ spokesperson, Craig Hughes, said close to 500 people had been intercepted at airports and other borders trying to bring the water in, and made a Read more
The father of the Samoan woman who it is said received the stigmata last Easter is giving up his work of 23 years as a minister of the Congregational Christian Church. Reverend Opapo Oeti Soana’i revealed his decision on Wednesday. “I am not going to wait for my roles as a church minister to be Read more
Tonga’s Women and Children Crisis Centre says it is working with the police to end corporal punishment in Tonga. Last week, a middle school teacher was charged with assault over the beating of a student who was later hospitalised for his injuries. The teacher also reportedly threatened to beat the 11-year-old’s parents if they reported Read more
Ecospirituality was the focus of The Asia-Oceania Meeting of Religious XVII which concluded March 3 in Yangon, Myanmar. There were 132 participants from 21 countries attending the meeting. The conference’s theme was”A Call for Global Ecological Conversion.” Participants explored the meaning of ecospirituality and the inherent Asian spirituality that celebrates ; “Contemplative consciousness” and “ecological Read more