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On Monday and Tuesday, Miami-based "Apostle" Guillermo Maldonado and his 36 crew members turned the Pettigrew Green Arena into a place of supernatural encounters.

Organisers said a man who was unable to hear was able to hear again, a man who could previously not bend over due to a back problem could bend again and a person who suffered multiple sclerosis for 12 years was cleared of their symptoms. Continue reading

The church's bishop, Victor Silva who is currently in Fiji, said via email that the UCKG believed God could heal people.

"We - like many Christians - pray for the sick, anointing them with oil and encourage people to do the same.

"This is never meant to replace medical treatments, but often it is done in conjunction with them, as a way to activate people's faith."

Claims from followers that the oil, as well as faith, have treated chronic illness are made in a pamphlet advertising an event called Lifted, which the UCKG billed as the "event of the year".

Naina Sharma, who works for the church, said the testimonials came mainly from people in New Zealand and Australia.

However she pointed out that there is a disclaimer in the pamphlet.

"If you read the disclaimer we say we don't claim to heal anyone," she said before declining to comment further.

In small print, the pamphlet makes this disclaimer: "The UCKG does not claim to heal people but believes God can through the power of faith. Always follow your doctor's instructions."

This is not the first time the UCKG' healing oil has been in the news. In 2014 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about it from the Society for Science Based Healthcare.

This was after Silva, responding to a previous successful ASA complaint, had promised that:

"When we come to hold another similar event, we will take external advice as to the content of any promotional material to doubly ensure that it is fully compliant with all regulation and that there is no chance of another complaint of this nature."

Despite these assurances, within 3 weeks the church sent out another advertisement for a "chain of prayer" series of events.

This advert claimed that "IT WORKS!" and that a "HEALING" session covered cases such as "When doctors & medicines are not enough" and "incurable diseases".

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• scoop.co.nz
• Image: newstalkzb.co.nz

But The mainstream churches in PNG are working with the United Nations and non-government organisations to help people access services.

Catholic archbishop John Ribat is a member of the Christian Leaders Alliance.

"Our concern as churches is to come together to address this HIV and AIDS and fight against the discrimination that continues to divide us," he said.

Pastor Godfrey Wippon heads PNG's Revival Centres and says his is the fastest growing religious movement in the country.

"It is growing because of healings, miracles, wonders, science happening in this ministry. The Lord heals," he said.

Pastor Wippon believes baptism and prayer can cure AIDS and even bring the dead back to life.

Health workers have told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that revivalists visit hospitals and clinics telling HIV patients to throw away their medication.

In a case that shocked many, one of PNG's first openly HIV-positive women, Helen Samilo, fell prey to the revivalist message.

Even though she was working as an advocate for anti-retroviral treatment, Ms Samilo joined a revivalist church, stopped taking medication, and died in August last year.

"It's just the revival church that told her not to take her medication. They are responsible for her death," Ms Anton, a friend of Ms Samilo, said.

"It's just the revival church that told her not to take her medication. They are responsible for her death," said Margaret Anton, president of Women Affected by HIV/AIDS, PNG.

Pastor Wippon sees Ms Samilo's death differently.

"She has been healed spiritually. She died physically, naturally. But spiritually she's right with the Lord," he said.

Source

• Radio Australia News
• Image: abc.net.au

A complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority was made about a brochure from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, which was circulated publicly and contained a timetable of healing sessions. Continue reading

Gaby Dean, 27, who said he had been blind since birth, told the crowded Vodafone Events Centre he could now distinguish the lights on the ceiling.

In an earlier interview with the New Zealand Herald The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) said its "holy oil" — olive oil purported to have been blessed at the sites of biblical miracles in Israel — helped to cure tumours, mental illness, stomach and bladder problems, marriage difficulties, strokes and heart defects.

When pushed by the Herald for evidence of any healing, Silva said the oil could not cure illness. Using it was an act of faith, he said, and faith could help in the restorative process.

In it's promotional video the UCKG the message, "The UCKG Help centre does not claim to heal people, but it believes God can, through the power of faith. Always follow your doctor's instructions." is flashed up from time to time.

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• The New Zealand Herald
• Image:UCKG

Sacred Heart parish priest James Lyons said Subritzky's request to hold a meeting at the church was accepted because the power of prayer was indisputable. "He's not saying, 'I will cure you'.

"He's saying, let's come together and pray, and God's power is quite beyond our comprehension."

Asked if he thought people really had been healed by attending Subritzky's meetings, Lyons said he had no reason to disbelieve it.

The local Health Board's clinical leader for radiation oncology, Carol Johnson, said any declaration of miracle healing should be taken with "extreme caution".

"We strongly recommend that, if you think there is something wrong with your health, you seek medical advice as early as possible, as it is proven that early detection significantly increases survival rates."

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Dove Ministries

EMIC co-pastor Terri Copeland Pearsons denied that she ever opposed vaccination (which is pretty much true. Her co-pastor and husband George Pearsons attributed the end of the measles outbreak not to vaccines, but to a two-minute long communal prayer he led the previous Wednesday for "an outbreak of healing," Continue reading

Australian Medical Association WA president Richard Choong said belief was important but he was concerned someone might not seek treatment because they believed faith had healed them.

"Faith and belief is a really important part of recovery, and that's been demonstrated through history, but is that the only part? I don't think so."

"I am very much concerned, when someone makes a claim that they can heal through faith, that those patients may not attend or seek medical advice or may halt treatment. That's unacceptable."

But Disciples of Jesus senior co-ordinator Reg Firth said Rea always encouraged people to maintain existing medical treatments, keep medical appointments and follow their doctor's advice.

"If God has healed, the practitioner will be the one to decide whether treatment is no longer required." Firth says.

"If people have yet to see a doctor, he would encourage them to do so."

The Perth Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community invited Father Rea to a series of Masses and "healing services" last month.

Father Rea rejected suggestions the apparent cures were a coincidence or attributable to the placebo effect. "The evidence indicates that these healings are real," he said.

"When they occur in great numbers, as they frequently do, they can hardly be attributed to luck.

"Nor can the placebo effect be invoked for the overnight healing of broken bones and similar healings.

Source

• The West.co.au
• Image: The West.co.au

Sixteen alternative treatments are being provided on a roster basis. Providers have been police-vetted and will go through a thorough induction when the service is launched next week.

The move has been described as a "seriously stupid decision" by Whanganui District Health Board member, Michael Laws. He says that it "hasn't gone anywhere near the DHB board table".

Victoria University biology sciences professor Shaun Holt says the therapies being offered were a "strange mix". "Meditation and massage great - the others not so."

He said there was no evidence-based research on reiki, Christian prayer and Maori healing being useful.

"What annoys me with things like this is there are lots of useful complementary therapies out there that they could be offering - yoga, tai chi, herbal supplements, even acupuncture or traditional Chinese medicine, that are all evidence-based."

He described reiki - which involves the practitioner placing their hands lightly on the body, supposedly allowing a free flow of universal energy - as "witchcraft".

Emergency department specialist Chris Cresswell, who helped set up the service, said the alternative therapies would complement conventional treatments.

"There is good research out there that lots of alternative therapies do have a lot of good to offer. I think our society has matured and people are more open-minded," he said

Source

• DomPost
• Image: St Michael's Catholic Community

The Equippers Church sign, which also displayed a tally of six to signify the number of people the church claimed had been healed of cancer caused outrage among many people, and sparked an investigation with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after nine complaints were laid.

Continue reading

The church removed the words from the billboard on Wednesday, replacing them with a quote from the Bible: 'Jesus heals every sickness and every disease - Matthew 4:23'.

The sign was erected last week at the Equippers Church in Tamatea. The billboard claims that Jesus heals cancer. The Church claims six of its members have been healed.

"I was disgusted, I was absolutely disgusted, and I felt quite sick," she said. "The sign shows no understanding and compassion for people who have journeyed through cancer and lost loved ones.

"To me, the billboard is saying 'join the church and you won't die of cancer', which is simply not true."

TV3 reported that here was a big response to this story. Most people were angry about the church's claim, but some people were angry with Campbell Live for doubting it.

In the original programme the church pastor promised to introduce the reporters to the parishoners who he claims have been cured of cancer at his church. On Thursday, Campbell Live reporter Kate King went to meet them.

• Watch Campbell Live's Monday programme
• Watch Campbell live's follow up programme interviewing parishioner

Source

• New Zealand Herald
• Campbell Live TV3
• Campbell Live TV3
• MSN News
• Image: Screenshot TV3

Of the respondents who voiced opinions on the matter, most expressed belief that most other Fijians believe in the efficacy of religious faith, herbal medicines, laying on of hands, Christian prayer and other means of treating if not also curing HIV.

During focus group discussions with health care workers, for example, when asked "Are people going in for faith healing or prayer [to cure HIV]?", three respondents said "Yes!" in unison. One of them said, "Yes, I came across a pastor who prayed, uh, I mean, uh, a patient, and then later found out that the patient became negative. And he was a positive case and then after, chain prayers and groups praying for him, you know, praying for him, it disappeared."

Another told a very personal story: "I gave birth to my son in 2004, 2003, eh, and he was tested positive. Uh, we prayed for him, we fast for him. Uh, they have a final blood test for him that's, uh, one year, six months, 18 months, so for first six months he was tested positive and we kept on praying for him. Turns out he was negative."

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Me, My Intimate Partner and HIV
• Image: Screen Shot Me My intimate Partner and HIV