The split in the church took place after Filimone Havili Mone, the former pastor of the Tongan United Methodist Church, was charged with failing to report child abuse.

The Rocky Mountain Conference removed Mone from his post in November, allegedly without any explanation to the church's congregation.

That led a majority of church members agreeing to change the name of the Tongan United Methodist Church to Salt Lake City Laumalie Ma'oni'oni Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, to elect a new board and modify its articles of incorporation.

The Conference sided with the minority members who remained with the Tongan United Methodist Church and opposed the changes.

In January Etimani Ma'Afu, was elected as president of the Tongan United Methodist Church, but not for the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The Free Wesleyan Church filed a legal challenge alleging that Ma'Afu was improperly claiming authority over the church's assets. The Conference filed a counterclaim asserting ownership and control of the church's charter and assets.

In April, the Conference and the Tongan United Methodist Church jointly sued the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga and its principals, alleging a breach of fiduciary duty in setting up their unaffiliated congregation.

Source

• The Salt Lake Tribune
• Image: The Salt Lake Tribune

"The last thing we need is religion inserted in this," said Michael Summers, a veteran Falklands legislator. Britain's United Nations ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, agreed.

Argentina continues to challenge Britain's claim of sovereignty over the Falklands despite a decisive British victory in the 1982 war and a conclusive referendum of islanders.

Continue reading

The chapel, built in 1916, is on land donated by Ms Scott's grandfather, Peter McCarthy, in 1911 and 1918 for the boarding school. He also donated buildings. The 270-piece altar, from Italy, was donated to the chapel in 1926 by the Hart family.

When the Dominican Sisters sold Teschemakers in 2000, they intended to gift the altar and the chapel's stained glass windows to the Holy Name parish. That intention was formalised by a deed of transfer in 2010.

However the Teschemakers Heritage Protection Society opposes removing the altar and stained glass windows to the Holy Name Parish, contending that the chapel, altar and windows should remain together as an architechtural unit.

In August last year, attempts to remove the altar were thwarted by protesters who obtained an interim enforcement order preventing its removal, which was confirmed by the Environment Court in a decision in October last year after Fr Chamberlain had applied for the order to be set aside.

The Environment Court had already ruled the altar was a fixture, not a chattel, but since that ruling in October last year, Fr Chamberlain had further investigations carried out, including 25 digital radar scans of the altar and its concrete foundation, followed by exploratory drilling. The High Court was asked to hear the additional evidence from those investigations which, it was contended by Fr Chamberlain, showed the altar was not fixed, was a chattel and could be shifted without resource consent. The dispute continues.

Source:

• ODT:
• Image: ODT

The church has employed a security guard to stop the medical centre's patients and staff using a right of way at the centre of the scrap.

The access connects the Westview Medical Centre in Glen Eden and Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes with Glendale Rd.

The church says it owns the land where the right of way is built and wants a payment of $3000 a year from the medical centre for staff and patients to use it.

GP Eric Horn says the right of way was used for years before the medical centre opened in 2004 and should remain as that.

Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes chairman John Whitcombe wants an official agreement with the medical centre, like it has with the Glen Eden RSA, over use of the right of way.

"All we've asked for from them is for them to negotiate to pay an amount of money."

The bishops' doctrine committee said that Elizabeth Johnson's book, "Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God" is marred by "misrepresentations, ambiguities and errors" and "completely undermines the Gospel and the faith of those who believe in the Gospel."

The public finding, the committee determined, was necessary because the popular book is directed to a broad audience and is being used as a textbook for the study of God.

The guidelines approved by the U.S. bishops state doctrinal disputes with theologians are to be kept as local as possible and are to follow carefully delineated steps involving dialogue with the theologian to clarify data, meaning and the relationship with Catholic tradition while identifying the implications for the life of the church.

Fr Leo O'Donovan said "It's regrettable, and much more than regrettable, that our bishops have not seen fit to use procedures they themselves adopted."

Source

• Image: Boston Pilot