The general secretary of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa has been dismissed and stripped of his ministerial title. The reverend Dr Afereti Uili is believed to have been dismissed by church elders on Tuesday. Read more
Asia Pacific
Is the secular state a good fit for Pacific Island nations?
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
The general-secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea Victor Roche, says in the 1970s, the Catholic Education Services joined the Government to form an association of equals in a unified system of education in PNG. He said this partnership had lasted but now there was little respect shown to the church by Read more
Almost 1700 arrested in West Papua demonstrations
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016
Reports from Indonesia indicate police arrested almost 1700 people in West Papua for taking part in a series of demonstrations across the region. Most have since been released. In the wake of the arrests, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully, not for the first time, was pressed about the rights situation in West Papua. “The Read more
Govt and mission schools tolerated irresponsible actions
Friday, May 6th, 2016
“Government with the support of mission schools have tolerated irresponsible actions of a few which have become a thorn and a nuisance to our country,” says Samoa’s new minister of Education, Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio. Loau is chairing a ministerial committee to recommend possible solutions to the problem of inter-school violence. “And it’s high time we Read more
Fiji: Methodist Church has concerns about sex eduction
Friday, May 6th, 2016
The Methodist Church in Fiji says any type of sex education taught in schools should be conveyed from a moral perspective. Speaking in response to questions raised by the Fiji Times newspaper about explicit sex education for Year 7 and Year 8 students, the church’s secretary for education, Waisake Ravatu, said they were already aware Read more
Nauru website blocked for propagating Islamic State
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016
A website whose domain is registered in Nauru has been blocked in India by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for propagating the ideology of the Islamic State (IS). “We have blocked the website as it propagated and tried to influence Indian youth into joining IS. “It had some traffic from India because of which we blocked Read more
Fiji a secular state – will not rebuild churches
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016
The Fiji Government will not spend its money to rebuild churches that have been destroyed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston. Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama told Parliament that Fiji was a secular state and the Government would not give priority to one faith over another. He was responding to a question asked by Opposition MP Mosese Read more
NZer employed by Wilsons on Manus Island murder suspect
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016
A New Zealand guard is one of the suspects in the murder of Reza Barati, a refugee detained in the Manus Island Detention Centre. The New Zealander is employed by Wilson Security – part of the The Wilson Group of companies that includes Wilson Parking and First Security. Two local guards have already been found guilty of the murder. Read more
- Turnbull spurns NZ's offer to take Manus refugees
- Reza Barati: men convicted of asylum seeker's murder to be free in less than four years
- Australia at odds with Pacific neighbours over harsh immigration policy
- A leading Catholic has a solution for Australia's Manus Island refugee problem
- Nauru can house asylum seekers says former president
- Australia's rights record problematic for the Pacific
Archbishop Alapati goes to Washington
Friday, April 29th, 2016
Archbishop Alapati Lui Mata’eliga of the Archdiocese of Samoa – Apia has become the first Samoan priest to celebrate Mass at the largest Catholic Church in the United States. Last Sunday he was the celebrant and homilist of the 10:30 a.m. English Mass which is one of the National Shrine’s six Sunday services. The Basilica Read more
Appointment of rival kings disrupts church services
Friday, April 29th, 2016
The appointment of rival kings in Uvea, one of three traditional kingdoms in Wallis and Futuna, means the Catholic Church will not be joining in the traditional May Day celebrations there this year. Usually there is a Mass before customary celebrations attended by the king and top church dignitaries, but the Catholic church said it Read more