A mob in Papua New Guinea has hacked to death a woman accused of being a witch. The woman – known as “Misila” – was one of four women saved by missionaries in January after a measles epidemic killed several people. The women were accused of being witches by a “witch-finder” who was paid by Read more
Tonga’s Catholic Women’s League marched to Parliament on Tuesday to present a petition asking the government not to ratify the United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Parliament opens 28 May. The government announced to the UN in March this year that it intended to ratify CEDAW. The main reasons for Read more
The chairman and elders of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (CCCS) may have transgressed a court injunction by banning an elder from their annual meeting. On Monday Reverend Kerita Reupena was told to leave the General Assembly at the church’s Annual Conference at Malua, in Samoa. Reupena is an elder in the CCCS at Ipswich Read more
The Catholic bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands strongly oppose the use of the death penalty. In a new Pastoral Letter on the issue of the death penalty the bishops say capital punishment has “no place in a Christian country, where true justice and mercy should prevail.” The bishops say where executions Read more
In Apia, Samoa, a government and a church school have come together to find a solution to end school fighting in public places. The principals of Avele and St. Joseph’s Colleges met last Friday in an effort to find a solution. Last Thursday fighting broke out after a school rugby match at the Saint Joseph’s Read more
In his first public speech in Tonga, Cardinal Mafi told thousands of listeners that he believed he had become the Catholic church’s youngest cardinal because he was named after John the Baptist. Mafi was responding to a question asked by many Tongans when news about his elevation broke in the kingdom: How did the tiny Read more
The Anglican Diocese of Polynesia aims to work ecumenically to eliminate all forms of violence – at home and in the community. They hope to work with other churches in the future to champion the elimination of violence in all forms. Diocesan secretary/registrar John Simmons said there was a need to tackle the issue and Read more
The north Aceh district of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), a predominantly Muslim province in Indonesia that has implemented sharia law since 2001, has passed legislation ordering separate classrooms for male and female students from secondary school level through university. The bylaw, or qanun, was approved on April 30 by district legislators. According to Fauzan Hamzah, Read more
Australia’s Immigration Department has established a Child Protection Panel to provide independent advice on child protection at the country’s asylum seeker detention centres — including the one on Nauru. It says four Australian Federal Police officers will also travel to Nauru to advise local police. Both developments are part of the government’s response to the Read more
Cardinal Peter Turkson says the Church cannot remain indifferent to the the plight of sinking pacific islands. He says he is sometimes approached by people telling him that he entered the seminary to save souls, not to “meddle” with political or scientific issues. “But I have bishops in the Pacific Islands telling me the land Read more