St John’s College students in Cawaci, Ovalau could return to their school sooner than expected. Rebuilding efforts by the school’s management has resulted in the rehabilitation of the school’s Sisters convent and dining hall for female students. St John’s College principal Father Ekuasi Manu said the repair works to the buildings should enable their senior Read more
Pope Francis has prayed for those who lost their lives and livelihoods in Fiji after Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston. “I also wish to assure my closeness to the peoples of the Fiji Islands, harshly lashed by a devastating cyclone,” the Pope said last week after praying the midday Angelus with those in St. Peter’s Square. Read more
In Papua New Guinea a long drought is over, but some two million people are affected by a lack of food and clean water. Typhoid and skin diseases are rife, malnutrition is on the rise, while, in remote areas, schools and medical centres have been shut down because there is no clean water. Drought and Read more
A 60-year-old woman is facing charges alleging that she forged multiple cheques to steal funds from a Catholic church in Guam. A Guam Superior Court grand jury handed down an indictment listing 23 charges against Veranice Rose Troves. The indictment accuses her of tampering with church records, altering amounts on cheques and forging cheques. Toves Read more
A priest at a Sydney Samoan church has demanded an MP front up about a questionable grant application for a local Catholic school. Fr Maurice Thompson of the Samoa Catholic Church in Panania has written to parishioners saying he wants a response from Liberal MP Glenn Brookes. This came after the L’au Samoa group applied Read more
Several Marist missions in Fiji were severely affected by Cyclone Winston, according to a report by Fr Pio Fong Waqavotuwale, SM. At the Tutu Rural Training Centre in Taveuni, 22 buildings were either completely or partially destroyed. These were staff houses, dormitories, workshops, hall and kitchens. Tens of thousands of kava and dalo plants, many belonging Read more
The damage at St John’s College in Levuka is “immense, particularly with the girls dormitory and classrooms” says Elimi Rokoduru, Lomaiviti provincial administrator. He said in an interview on Tuesday that they were trying to get the more than 400 students on the next available ship so they may be able to join their families. Read more
A maternity hospital in Ra province has been badly damaged by cyclone Winston. The Catholic nuns who run the hospital are calling for help to rebuild. The roof of their quarters was ripped off during the cyclone and the delivery room and sterilisation unit are damaged. The 44 year old hospital has been operated by Read more
“Winston has left behind extensive damage to homes, public offices, businesses, trees, crops, roads, electricity lines, telephones and bridges,” said Iosefo Nainima, Archdiocese of Suva’s Director for Justice and Development. “Most of the villages along its path are completely destroyed with sea walls washed away. ‘The most immediate needs would be tarpaulins, blankets, food, farming Read more
Last week 9 Australian Christian leaders were arrested after they protested against the deportation of asylum seekers. The nine leaders from different Church traditions were protesting the deportation of 267 men, women and children to detention camps on the Pacific island of Nauru. The majority of them are asylum seekers who were brought from the Read more