The Emeritus Archbishop of Suva Petero Mataca passed away at the Suva Private Hospital on Monday morning 30 June 2014 after a long illness. His successor, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong said “We thank him for his tireless commitment and in his own words we say: Sa dre ko Malolo. It is time to say Read more
Sister Mary Brigid Perez has been nominated by Archbishop of Agana in Guam, Anthony S. Apuron, for the Catholic Extension’s Lumen Award. Sister Brigid spent nearly 50 years as an educator in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. After she left teaching, she became program manager of the Alee Family Violence Shelter. “Alee” is the nautical Read more
King Tupou VI opened the 91st Free Wesleyan Church Annual Conference at the Laumalie Ma’oni’oni Church in Neiafu, Vava’u, on June 26. In his address he urged the church leaders to be front runners in promoting a healthier lifestyle. Radio Tonga reports that the King highlighted the impact on Tonga of consuming a lot of Read more
At its General Synod in April the Anglican Tikanga of the Dioceses of New Zealand, Aotearoa and Polynesia passed a motion regarding same gender marriage. Motion 30 seeks to see if there is a structure for the Anglican Church to hold onto the traditional view of marriage, and at the same time find a way of Read more
Christianity is seen as a national identity in our country, says the prime minister of the Solomon Islands Gordon Darcy Lilo. “In towns and villages many people acknowledge the sovereign hand of God over our nation and acknowledge his plan for our destiny,” he said. “The vast majority of Solomon Islands population are Christians.” He Read more
A saving scheme for women in Gizo in Solomon Islands has been set up to help improve their economic status and eventually set up their own businesses. The Women’s Saving Club was developed as the micro-finance component of a fisheries project. It looks at ways the income and food security of the fishing communities can Read more
Churches in Fiji and the region are throwing their voices behind self determination for West Papua. Their support comes as the PIDF hosted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at its second summit in Nadi last week. Indonesia has maintained rule in West Papua since 1969 and has in the past been accused of widespread human Read more
The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) says the green economic focus of the Pacific Islands Development Forum’s (PIDF) summit “fails to move beyond ‘growth-centred’ development – that is, it is business as usual.” The Conference’s General Secretary, Reverend Francois Pihaatae, says this model will not guarantee the kind of development the region’s peoples need He Read more
A recent visit to Canberra with young pasifikan leaders to lobby Australian politicians has made Sister Geraldine Kearney “more determined to be part of their ongoing struggle”. Geraldine was part of the Pacific Calling Partnership delegation to Canberra late last month, which included a small group of young people from Kiribati, Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea. Geraldine Read more
The Timor Lesté parliament has adopted a new media law that does not differentiate between journalists and social media users. It will impose licensing for journalists and a narrow definition of a “journalist” and potentially bars foreign journalists. Journalists are expected to fall into line with the government’s media definitions and foreign reporters could be Read more