They are also urging the president to take a "different course from this saga of death." Read more

But you're a loyal Democrat. Or perhaps instead, you're a loyal Republican. Never mind that. Your political affiliation is not that important.

What's crucially important is your affiliation with Jesus, and your commitment to his campaign - to his divine plan.

Are you voting for Jesus Christ?

Oh, but Jesus is not running for election. Oh, but yes he is!

He is running as an unborn baby threatened by abortion, a starving child, a poor mother whose resources have run out, a war-weary desperate father with five children, a hard-working undocumented immigrant, a Christian refugee fleeing ISIS, a Central American teenager seeking asylum from gang violence, a heroin addicted young man, a little child drinking polluted water, a lonely old woman with meager resources, a young sweatshop worker, a homeless man, a trafficked girl trapped in prostitution, and a seriously ill elderly lady informed that a physician is available to assist her in committing suicide.

Oh yes, Jesus is surely campaigning - for the vulnerable and poor, for the care of creation and for peace on earth.

However, sad to say, his party - the human race - is not leading in the polls. Most wealthy individuals, corporations and government office holders are far more interested in holding unto their riches and power than in voting for, and working for, the human race.

Consequently, countless members of the human race continue to suffer from war, war preparation, poverty, hunger, starvation, homelessness, unemployment, underemployment, environmental degradation, slave labor, trafficking, capital punishment, physician-assisted suicide and abortion.

The 2016 U.S. elections are of crucial importance not only for America, but for the human race. Because the U.S. is the world's strongest military and economic power, the November elections are of great importance to the inhabitants of planet earth. That is exactly why it is crucial for Christians to enter the voting booth with a well-formed conscience based on Gospel values.

The compassionate integrity - or lack thereof - of the next president and members of Congress, will significantly determine how well, or how poorly, the human race does in the next several years.

"Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" (go to http://bit.ly/1kHJsse), produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is a very good election guide to help Catholics, all other Christians, and people of good will to make the best moral choices. The bishops are urging us to read the entire document.

In this document the bishops teach that as each person strives to form her/his conscience, it is essential "to embrace goodness and truth. For Catholics, this begins with a willingness and openness to seek the truth and what is right by studying Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Church as contained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church."

The bishops clarify that while we may choose different ways to respond to compelling social problems, "We cannot differ on our moral obligation to help build a more just and peaceful world through morally acceptable means, so that the weak and vulnerable are protected and human rights and dignity are defended."

May voters everywhere commit to voting for candidates who are most likely to work for the common good of the entire human race - especially for the poor, vulnerable, war-torn, and planet earth - our common home.

As faithful disciples of Jesus, let us never forget that when it comes to political elections, as well as in all matters, the Gospel trumps everything!

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings about Catholic social teaching. His keynote address, "Advancing the Kingdom of God in the 21st Century," has been well received by diocesan and parish gatherings from Santa Clara, Calif. to Baltimore, Md. Tony can be reached at tmag@zoominternet.net.

The bishops advised Catholics to be more active in the upcoming elections for constituency Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) and regional MSP.

"Catholics in Scotland should not simply be passive spectators but should be active participants," the bishops said in a letter that will be read in churches on Sunday.

Catholics of the 500 Scottish parishes told to "scrutinize the candidates so as to vote for the person most compatible with your views."

The bishops said Catholics should also "seek to influence political parties by making your views known to them."

The letter warns that by not voting in the election, the future of Scotland would be left in the hands of others.

Sources

Independent Catholic News
Catholic Herald
Scottish Catholic Observer
Image: Catholic Herald

The Samoa Observer reported that the decision "contributed largely to absence of violence and unruly behaviour in most villages".

The presence of church pastors at voting places also helped with security, the newspaper stated.

The election on March 4 saw Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi and his Human Rights Protection Party collective prevail.

Five cabinet ministers lost their seats in the election.

At a thanksgiving service on March 6, Rev. Toailoa Peleti of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa urged HRPP party members to put God first as he is the creator of all things.

"God has chosen all of you to be the caretakers of the people and leaders of the country," Rev. Toailoa said.

"So you need to lead with love and honesty.

"You have been chosen by the people of your constituency because they trust and believe in you.

"It is God's will for you to be here and through the people he has made it happen."

The leader of the Tautua Samoa Party, Palusalue Fa'apo II, congratulated the Prime Minister, but expressed fears about Samoa's future.

"Without an opposition, we are now a one party state," he said.

Samoan law requires a party to have at least eight members to be recognised as an opposition by Parliament.

As of March 9, the Tautua Party had only three members in Parliament.

Mr Fa'apo said there had been a lot of bribery during the elections.

"There was a lot of money that had been floated around. It was the use of money where the election result was determined."

Sources

• Samoa Observer
• Samoa Observer
• Samoa Observer
• Samoa Observer
• Image: Radio New Zealand

Getsi says her success is an important symbol for all Bougainvillean women.

She was competing against 11 men and did particularly well through the second preference votes re-allocated from unsuccessful candidates.

A total of 342 candidates contested the election, which included 33 constituency seats, three reserved seats for women in parliament, three reserved for former combatants and the seat of president.

Getsi was among 11 women who challenged male candidates for an open seat in their respective regions.

Helen Hakena, from the Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency, was with Getsi when the results were declared last Tuesday night.

Hakena said the newly-elected MP was left dumbfounded by the result.

"When she heard that they declared her the winner, she sat down in her chair without speaking, she had tears in her eyes,"

Source

• fbc.com.fj.
• radionz.co.nz
• radioaustralia.net.au
• radioaustralia.net.au
• Image: abc.net.au

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, having received the opinion of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, has decided that it would be appropriate to publish the present Doctrinal Note on some questions regarding the participation of Catholics in political life.

This Note is directed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church and, in a particular way, to Catholic politicians and all lay members of the faithful called to participate in the political life of democratic societies.

Central points in the current cultural and political debate - Doctrinal notes

It is not the Church's task to set forth specific political solutions - and even less to propose a single solution as the acceptable one - to temporal questions that God has left to the free and responsible judgment of each person.

It is, however, the Church's right and duty to provide a moral judgment on temporal matters when this is required by faith or the moral law.

When political activity comes up against moral principles that do not admit of exception, compromise or derogation, the Catholic commitment becomes more evident and laden with responsibility.

In the face of fundamental and inalienable ethical demands, Christians must recognise that what is at stake is the essence of the moral law, which concerns the integral good of the human person.

This is the case with laws concerning abortion and euthanasia (not to be confused with the decision to forgo extraordinary treatments, which is morally legitimate).

Such laws must defend the basic right to life from conception to natural death.

In the same way, it is necessary to recall the duty to respect and protect the rights of the human embryo.

As is stated by The Congregation for The Doctrine of the Faith it is a serious sin to vote for a candidate or party who proposes a policy that is contrary to the Church's teachings on abortion or euthanasia.

Whilst it is essential that an elector must be aware in conscience that God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end every Catholic should know the Fifth Commandment, Thou Shall Not Kill.

This is not just a matter that can be left to an uneducated conscious but requires the clergy to exercise its commitment to teach God's law.

Our NZ Bishops appear to disagree with this teaching and they say "Certainly, it is not sinful to vote for the party or candidate you think is most suitable overall, even if that candidate or party advocates free abortion or euthanasia."

They then refer to a clarification on this matter by Cardinal Raymond Burke (who says "Catholics who support pro-abortion candidates participate in a grave evil. They must show a change of heart and be sacramentally reconciled or refrain from receiving Holy Communion.") and say that Cardinal Burke is caught up in uncharitable warfare and is an extremist.!!!

Prefect of the Sacred Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and the President of the Advisory Board of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute Cardinal Raymond Burke could be wrong but he is fairly senior and one would assume qualified to speak on these matters.

As the New Zealand elections are fast approaching I would like to see some further advice from our Bishops advising the laity, for whom they have a Sacred responsibility, not who to vote for but who NOT to vote for, to avoid mortal sin.

Joe Hannah

Te Roopu Haurongo receive referrals from the Police, Child Youth and Family and the local community of young people who are getting into trouble or facing difficulties and hardship.

Whanau advocates and kaumatua supporters walk alongside whanau and youth to work out a plan to help them reach their potentials.

Te Roopu Hauranga is one of the seven groups Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has made videos about to showcase examples of how different communities are practicing principles of Catholic social teaching in daily life.

The resource pack is being distributed to schools, parishes and media around the country this week.

"We are inspired by the examples across Aotearoa New Zealand, where members of our Catholic community put into practice our tradition of justice in their daily lives," says Caritas Director Julianne Hickey.

"Our hope is that this focus during Social Justice Week will lead to a renewed understanding and commitment to the ways in which each of us can put Catholic social teaching into practice, in our homes, families and communities."

This year, the New Zealand General Election falls on the last day of Social Justice Week.

It is hoped that the Social Justice Week materials will inspire Catholics and the wider community to consider what ethical principles underlie our response to economic and social issues in the lead-up to the election

Other groups included in the resource pack are:

• Hutt Valley Benefit Education Service Trust
• Cyclone Haiyan Philippines Emergency Response
• L'Arche Kapiti
• St Vincent de Paul Full Fill Van Rotorua
• Caritas Challenge - Marian College and Catholic Cathedral College
• Papatuanuku ki Taurangi - Earth Promise Centre

Source

Supplied by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

"Everyone should have a nice life," she tells a small audience at a Wellington bar. "Small actions, multiplied, can lead to big change," she says.

Laura, 25, outlines her pitch for RockEnrol, a movement to increase youth voter turnout.

The audience is a mix of smartphones and activists wearing knitted jumpers; committed environmentalists and social media addicts.

Laura talks about crowd-funding the campaign, getting musicians and artists on board, and convincing people that government is cool. "I grew up in the age of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians," she says, and government just isn't glam.

She describes RockEnrol as a "crowd-fuelled youth-led movement to try and build and activate political power for young people in Aotearoa".

"We use the cultural mediums that young people are already engaged in to try to make politics more relevant and resonant - so that's popular culture, music, events, art, things like that."

The idea is to hold events - gigs, house parties, festivals, a carnival - for which the price of admission is a promise to vote in September's election. They'll also be running marketing and education campaigns.

These measures are necessary because fewer than half of 18-29 year olds voted in the last election.Turnout has been declining in much of the world for decades.

New Zealand's numbers sit in about the middle of the OECD, so there's no crisis yet.

We're one of the easiest countries in the world to enrol to vote and cast your ballot. And yet, people are worried about what the decline means for our democracy. Continue reading.

Source: The Wireless

Image: NewsTalkZB

Politicians from both sides attended the recent monthly Samoan Mass held in south Auckland.

Judith Collins who was present at the Mass said, "South Auckland can always make or break elections".

Labour Mangere MP Su'a William Sio was also there.

He says that while he has been coming to the Mass for 14 years, it was the first time he has seen National MPs in attendance.

David Cunliffe will be going to the next month's Mass.

Most people 3 News spoke at the recent Mass plan to vote red, but he reporter said the safe Labour seats may not be the fortresses they once were.

"There is a slight shift towards National and New Zealand First as well," says churchgoer Evelyn Stowers.

She still supports Labour, but says there's a "but": "They're not delivering the goods, simple as that, and leadership."

Others present also noted the Labour leadership as a cause for concern, and even his MPs think he needs to do more.

"David [Cunliffe] is aware of that, and as part of our strategy we're getting him out and about in the regions," says Sio.

Source

• TV3 News
• Image: Screen Shot TV3News

Some commentators are saying this will be a litmus test for Labour support.

South Auckland electorates are traditionally Labour thanks in large part to church-going Pacific Islanders.

The meeting is a response to small group of influential Pacific Island clergy declaring, at the Manurewa flea market, last Sunday that they would switch their support from the Labour Party to the National Party.

The ministers involved have come under fire on Pacific Island social media. They have been criticised for not consulting their parishes.

A Seventh Day Adventist minister, Teleiai Edwin Puni, said he and five other Seventh Day Adventist ministers - all recognised in the Pacific community - met National MP Cam Calder on Sunday.

"If we are to defend our Christian values and build a brighter future for New Zealand families, we need to engage our Pacific people and vote National," Puni said.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• TV3 News
• Image: tavpacificauckland.weebly.com

He told Pacific Scoop his message to voters is to use the mayoral race as an opportunity to think differently about Auckland's multiculturalism, and to "unite our differences".

He says he stands as an independent mayoral candidate and he wants Auckland council's policies and resourcing to work more for the less well-off communities.

Unasa, who is a Samoan born Methodist minister, is currently a chaplain at Auckland University and lives in Parnell.

After attending Kelston High School he studied at Auckland University, graduating with a degree in History and Political Studies. He then earned a degree in Theology from the University of Otago. He trained for the ministry at Piula Theological College in Samoa, Knox Theological Hall in Dunedin, and Trinity Methodist College in Auckland.

Ordained in the Methodist Church in 1995, he spent a decade in parish ministry.

The sitting mayor, Len Brown, appointed Unasa, as Chairman of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel, but the Samoan Methodist minister said it had not been heard and had come to nothing.

Auckland's two Pasifika city councillors say their communities won't fall for a call to reject Len Brown in favour of a Pasifika mayor. They are supporting Mr Brown.

Source

• Pacific Scoop
• Pasifikmag.com
• Radio New Zealand
• Image: 3News

Ruak won 275,441 votes, or 61.23 per cent, while Francisco Guterres, known as "Lu Olo", took 174,386, or 38.77 per cent, according to a count announced on Tuesday 17 April

Throughout his campaign Ruak reinforced his military image. Like Lu Olo, Ruak is a hero of the 24-year guerrilla war against Indonesian occupation.

He resigned as defence chief late last year to run for president, had vowed to introduce mandatory military service if elected.

Ruak, whose name means "piercing eyes" in the local Tetum language, was accused by the United Nations of involvement in illegal weapons transfers in 2006, when rioting and factional fighting left the nation on the brink of civil war.

In a speech published in January the incumbent President, and Nobel Peace Laureate José Manuel Ramos-Horta wrote,"I will run for office and it is up to the people to decide. But I will not engage in campaigning. The people know me - during the occupation I was the voice of the people, the shadow of the people in the world; I became Minister for Foreign Affairs for many years, during the 2006-2007 crisis I became Prime Minister and finally President, until now.

I will not campaign against other candidates because I am not better, nor smarter than my brother candidates.

During the coming weeks, I will only release a statement with my thoughts, my program for 2012-2017. I will continue to work at the Palace and visit various areas as I have always done in the past, but I will not engage in campaigning.

I can tell you today: should the people choose another candidate, I will support our new President in whatever way he may want and ask. He will not be alone."

"As with most countries, Timor Leste is complex: in its history, in its various ethnic groups and languages and in its social composition and aspirations,". says Good Samaritan Sister, Rita Mary Hayes who has been in Timor Leste since six months after the violence and destruction that followed the Timor Lesté people's vote for independence from Indonesia on August 30, 1999.

"This year marks the tenth anniversary of independence gained from Indonesian occupation and is also the five hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Portuguese colonisers," she says

"The people have experienced two different Presidents, two Prime Ministers and two different party-led Governments. These coming elections can now be based on choice based on their experience as well as their hopes. They are ready for it."

On July 7, voters will choose a new government in a general election.

Sources

• Business Spectator
• The Good Samaritan Sisters - The Good Oil
• Office of the President of Timor Lesté
• Image: Praza

Electoral Commission representative Alice Guguna said the awareness was a civic-voter education strategy to educate people in the remote areas on the election process and their right to vote freely, fairly and safely.

Caritas PNG has been a long-time partner of the commission in educating the people on the election process.
It has produced awareness materials such as posters, leaflets and brochures to educate the people on the importance of casting their votes without being intimidated.

A Church-based poll monitor supported the charges, saying there is a need to "put closure to the anomalies during the 2004 and 2007 elections."

About 30 people gathered at the Petone Library to hear the candidates - plus New Zealand First's Rongotai candidate Brent Pierson - tell them why they should get their vote.

Millenarian cults are social movements common throughout history. They proclaim for devoted believers the destructive end of one era and the dramatic coming of another more perfect world.

These movements flourish during periods of social, economic and political chaos. Visions of the Nazi new world order or the Marxist classless society are particularly tragic examples of millenarian movements.

Less well-known are the past and present "cargo cult" movements in Melanesia (i.e. Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu), in the South Pacific. They also are millenarian movements. It is claimed that specified ritual actions and bizarre practices will suddenly and spectacularly bring their adherents a life of bountiful material goods (called locally "cargo") under messianic leadership. Trust the leaders. Ancestors will come from the skies in planes and boats carrying all kinds of Western goods. The "cargo" message of the messianic leaders is: repudiate the past by dramatically destroying crops and houses as the pre-condition for the coming of the "new heaven" of prosperity. Then sit and wait for the ancestors. When the rituals fail there is great despondency, but new leaders emerge claiming that their predecessors did not have the "right rituals". So the cycle of destruction and hollow promises of impressive prosperity begin all over again.

Surely, readers will say, this cannot apply to New Zealand. After all, we are reasonable people. Think again. We have our own modern millenarian cargo cults, especially at election times. For example, the way in which healthcare reforms have been promoted in quite recent times by politicians at election times have sadly followed the "cargo cult" pattern.

Think back to the 1980s. Proposed healthcare reforms were presented in a populist style. People were enthusiastically assured that the "cargo" of better choice, more efficiency, and updated services would arrive. But there were preconditions. Previous political leaders and the wisdom of the founders of our universal healthcare had to be demonised. Politicians promised that if hospitals were conducted as businesses they would be more efficient and profitable at the same time. That is, healthcare had to be measured in money terms. So, for example, locally elected boards had to be destroyed with lightning speed.

You know the results. We voted for the "reforms". The neo-liberal reforms were introduced into the national healthcare system with incredible speed. The consequences? The promised "heaven" never materialised. Chaos in our much-loved health system intensified.

So in the 1990s local control had to be reintroduced, while the lives of thousands of people had been negatively and needlessly affected by the ideologically led reforms. In England, also, today neo-liberal "cargo-cult reform" continues to follow "reform" with breath-taking speed. In the National Health Service since the mid-1980s there has been some significant form of organizational disruption almost annually, due to policy decisions emanating from Whitehall, with the latest dramatic proposed re-structuring in 2010. Each so-called reform promises "heaven-on-earth" to citizens in the healthcare services. Present structures are speedily destroyed, previous politicians are condemned for having foolish policies. The result - rarely is there any improvement in services. In fact, chaos intensifies. The pattern is the same in Australia.

What is the lesson? Beware of politicians who promise immediate and dramatic benefits if they are elected. Beware of politicians who simplistically condemn anything good done by their opposition parties.

There is a German saying that "the wise person has a long ear and a short tongue." How true! Look for the politician who is prepared to listen, respects the dignity of human life. Do not trust the politician who offers dramatically quick benefits and has no regard for true human values of the past and the necessity of sound planning and sustained hard work. Jesus Christ so wisely warned: "Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits…I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits" (Matt 7:15-16, 20).

_________________

Gerald A. Arbuckle, sm, an anthropologist, is the author of Violence, Society, and the Church which further discusses the above theme.

• Image: Society of Mary NZ

It is entitled "Towards a Robust Society." Garth George presents some excerpts from the essay.

"Every three years," they say, "the electoral cycle reminds us of the inestimable value of democracy, and the opportunity for voter and candidate alike to actively participate in determining the future shape of our society."

Defining how we understand ourselves as people in community, the churchmen say: "Underpinning each person's vision for society will be a number of assumptions about what it means to be human ... that can be characterised by two broad emphases. The first tends to regard each person primarily as an autonomous individual, each with his or her own needs, aspirations and interests.

Read
Garth George _ New Zealand Herald

Things happen slowly in Tonga.

Widespread consultation with Tongans resulted in a parliamentary and election report resulting in the 12 month adjournment of Parliament.

A record number of prospective candidates have indicated their intention to stand in 17 constituencies and more than 40,000 people have registered to vote in a country of approximately 100,000.

Post-election, potentially one of the biggest challenges facing Tonga is that having the numbers and the sway on voting day does not necessarily equal the mana and mandate to lead the country. The arithmetic of popularity does not automatically add up to authority.

What lies ahead is the unknown sum of many complicated parts. For a long time, Tonga's stability rested on the power of one. King George V's voluntary steps towards democracy represent a giant leap for Tongan society. The gulf, however, is wide. Like many others, I will be praying that Tonga lands on its feet.