State of the Environment report for Oceania 2015 – Caring for our Common Home was released on October 4 by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand. This report may help to wake New Zealanders and Australians up to the serious environmental problems exisiting in their own backyard. A Caritas indicator included in the publication gives a snapshot Read more
A shared Christian faith played a big part in all of the Pasifika teams competing in the Rugby World Cup. And it was not just a matter of praying for a victory. That strategy was no doubt not ignored; on this occasion seems to have been remarkably unsuccessful. But it was their shared Christian faith Read more
A recently build Seventh Day Adventist Church on Anuta Island, in the Temotu Province of Solomon Islands, has been demolished by angry locals. According to Pastor Irving Vagha, who holds the portfolios of Adventist Volunteer Services and Global Mission for SIM, Anuta’s Anglican priest together with a large group of supporters demolished the church. Anuta Read more
Members of the Samoa Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church (SISDAC) from around the world came together to celebrate the opening of their new church in Apia on Tuesday. The new deep yellowish church building in Tuafusi is very distinctive and it stand out in Apia’s townscape. The church is part of complex that will become Read more
Bishop Christian Blouin of Lae Diocese was attacked last month in Lae, Papua New Guinea. According to the Catholic Professionals Society of PNG (CPSPNG) president, Paul Harricknen, the bishop was attacked when he tried to stop some street preachers carrying pictures of the Pope and cardinals and abusing the Catholic Church. “When the street preachers Read more
Thick haze blanketing the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan has shackled the local economy, forced school closures and led to widespread acute respiratory infections, the head of the Catholic bishops’ justice and peace commission says. “Because of the haze crisis, [the local people’s] activities in the economic sphere have been shackled. Their right to Read more
A member of the Anglican Melanesian Brotherhood (Solomon Islands) in Popondetta, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, has been murdered. Br. Tolbon Diwaero was killed late last Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning (Sept. 15-16) by unidentified persons on his way back to Domara Household, the church reported via Facebook. Br. Kelliot Betu, regional secretary of Read more
The Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea is already providing aid for communities affected by frost and droughts. Planning is underway for relief assistance in the future should the developing El Niño be as severe as climatologists are predicting. Crop gardens have already been destroyed by frost and rivers and creeks have either dried up Read more
“The Christian (sic) Brothers took rugby to the islands and a combination of ball and bible has been the cement in Tongan society ever since,” according to Mike Averis, writing in the Guardian. He may possibly be referring to the Marist Brothers, and the Marist Fathers, many of whom played a prominent part in rugby Read more
Sister Anna Wiwiek Soepraptiwi, a Daughter of Charity who lives in Nausori, has educated many women on how to prevent harming the environment by recycling rubbish and then selling the product. “It is a lot of detailed work, but with perseverance and patience, anyone can create a nice artwork from the recycled plastics,” Anna says. Read more