Sexual exploitation of children has become rife in Fiji. And the problem is largely hidden from authorities and the public. These are findings in a joint survey by the NGOs Save the Children, and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking International. A recent UN report also revealed that abuse of children in Fiji is usually performed Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Fiji’
Fiji’s archbishop says church has a role in politics 
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Thursday, October 8th, 2020
Fiji’s archbishop, Peter Loy Chong, says the church has a role in politics. People who think mixing religion with politics is wrong are ‘in denial’, he suggests. Loy Chong – who is the head of the Catholic Church in Fiji – was chief guest the opposition National Federation Party (NFP) Annual General Meeting in Suva Read more
Father Kevin Barr: an enigmatic champion against poverty Comments 0
Thursday, September 24th, 2020
This week, I join most of Fiji, including my many progressive friends, in mourning the passing of Father Kevin Barr, a good man, a lifelong fighter against poverty and homelessness, for the good of humanity and not for personal gain. But Father Barr would want Fiji not just to just mourn his passing, but more Read more
Fiji’s Archbishop offers an apology for abuse Comments 0
Thursday, July 16th, 2020
The head of the Fiji Catholic Church has made an apology for the behaviour of Catholic priests, religious and teachers who allegedly abused Fijian children. Archbishop Peter Loy Chong was responding to a news report on TVNZ by pacific correspondent, Barbara Dreaver. For the last year, 1 NEWS has been investigating claims of historic sexual Read more
‘Our diet is killing us quietly’: Fiji’s diabetes crisis Comments 0
Thursday, July 2nd, 2020
At the height of his 15-year career as a surgeon in the Pacific nation of Fiji, Dr Jone Hawea was performing eight to 10 diabetes-related operations every day – at least two of which were the amputations of limbs. “Our wards are always full of diabetes cases. Sometimes our surgical wards wouldn’t be able to Read more
Fiji archbishop calls for Oceania Synod Comments 0
Thursday, October 24th, 2019
Fiji Archbishop, Peter Loy Chong is calling for an Oceania Synod, a “Synod on the ocean”. He made the call while in Rome for the Amazon synod. “The Amazon and its forests are important, but we must not forget how significant the ocean is in the web of life,” Chong told Caritas’ Harriet Paterson and Read more
Fiji archbishop advocates nonviolence to help stabilize social unrest Comments 0
Thursday, October 10th, 2019
In late September, thousands of schoolchildren stayed home from school in Suva, the capital city of Fiji, due to rumors of “public unrest” circulating on social media. According to FBC News, people who started fake news stories likely intended to hurt the country “economically and politically” by creating panic and shutting down work. Fiji’s religious Read more
Environmental degradation seriously concerns Fiji Comments 0
Monday, September 9th, 2019
Fiji’s Archbishop Peter Loy Chong says Fiji is facing several serious concerns caused by environmental degradation. According to a report by the World Bank published in 2000, on the potential effects of climate change on the Pacific region, Fiji faces numerous risks. These include: higher rates of disease as average temperatures rise increasingly destructive storms Read more
NZ women uplifting Pacific sisters with free bras Comments 0
Thursday, August 15th, 2019
Forget about burning them – bras donated by New Zealand women are giving their sisters in the Pacific a new sense of freedom. More than 1500 bras collected by women’s networks in two government departments have been donated to The Uplift Project, supporting women of the Pacific Islands who’ve never owned a bra. The room Read more
Church to take on government in Fiji court Comments 0
Monday, May 13th, 2019
In a first for Fiji, the government and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church will face off in court next week over the management of a school in the country’s north. The Education Ministry last month obtained a court order to prevent the church from taking over Vatuvonu College in Cakaudrove. The church’s general secretary, Joe Talemaitoga, Read more
Wojciech Żaglewski