Pope Francis has appointed Reverend Father Reynaldo Bunyi Getalado (right) as the Cook Islands’ new coadjutor bishop. As a coadjutor bishop, Getalado takes over responsibility for the diocese when the current Cook Islands bishop Paul Donoghue SM retires. Getalado, who is from the Philippines, has worked in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand in the Waitaruke Read more
United States President Joe Biden has met Pacific island leaders for a second White House summit in just over a year, part of a charm offensive aimed at curbing inroads by China into a region Washington considers strategically crucial. Before welcoming the island leaders, gathered under the umbrella of the 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Read more
He could talk with anyone at any time, he was very approachable and he was a great optimist. These were some of the many positive attributes of Bishop Stuart O’Connell, SM, recalled by speakers at a requiem Mass at Owairaka in Auckland on August 9. Bishop O’Connell, Bishop Emeritus of Rarotonga, died on August 2, Read more
The Cook Islands Catholic Community Auckland (CICCA) youth pilgrimage visited Rarotonga for a religious and cultural immersion during holy week and Easter. The 45 members stayed at the St Mary’s church in Arorangi; many of the young team are not familiar with the cultural habits and surroundings, having being born and brought up in New Read more
Father Damian Marinus celebrated his 89th birthday last Saturday. He arrived in the Cook Islands with his life-long friend Father John Rovers on November 11, 1957. His first appointments in the Cook Islands were to Mauke and Atiu. “Over time, Father John identified with Mauke and Father Damian with Atiu,” said Bishop Paul Donoghue speaking Read more
A former New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands says a new mobile health clinic for Rarotonga has been designed for use in disasters. Kaveinga Ora will begin replacing the island’s 27 medical centres this week as it starts service for the island’s 13,000 people. The project is the result of two years’ work Read more
The graves of 18 Cook Islands World War I ANZACs have been restored and protected from the encroaching sea in Rarotonga. A group of volunteers, including the descendants of the veterans, have spruced up their grave sites by concreting and painting them. They also repaired the headstones, as part of the Nikao Cemetery Restoration Project. Read more
Joanne (not her real name) has been living and working in a home on Rarotonga for the last six months. (This feature story is was first published by the Cook Islands News.) She gets up at 6.30am every morning to prepare breakfast for her employer’s children, sets out their clothes, makes their lunches and then Read more
The Cook Islands Ministry of Health has told the country’s only gynecologist to stop making appointments at the Epsom Day Clinic in Auckland for women who want an abortion. “Before, I could ring and make an appointment at the Epsom Day Unit, so they could go there,” Doctor May Aung has told the Cook Islands Read more
The retiring Bishop of Hamilton, New Zealand, has been a bishop for 38 years, serving in three dioceses, The Cook Islands, Auckland and Hamilton. He has been a priest for 52 years. “Looking back over nearly 38 years as a Bishop in three different Dioceses, I am grateful for the wonderful support and loyalty that Read more