The church in Fiji is still waiting for the announcement of a successor to Archbishop Mataca. Archbishop Petero Mataca will visit the Holy See next month on his “ad limina” visit which is made every five years. Archbishop Petero said “Last March, I sent my report covering the last five years. When Rome receives that, Read more
A call by a former President of the Fiji Methodist Church for soldiers not to obey the coup installed military government has been called hypocritical by an overseas democracy campaigner.
Reverend Josateki Koroi says that Christian soldiers in the Fiji Military Forces should carefully weigh up their religious obligations if ordered to shoot at people.
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Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama says the military respects the church and traditional leaders, and meant no disrespect when it took over leadership of the country in 2006. “Sega ni kena i naki ya me kalawaci na lotu, se na vanua se na turaga ni vanua (The purpose was not to overstep the church, the Read more
Wednesday was a public holiday in Fiji to mark Diwali, “the Festival of Lights” which is celebrated with much fanfare because a significant number of Hindus live there and celebrate the festival with traditional good will and rituals. Such is the euphoria that even the non-Hindu population participate in fun and celebrations related to the festival Read more
Recently, the church in Fiji has carried out awareness programmes within their communities about the new translation of the Roman Missal which is expected to come into effect on November 29 this year. The current English translation has been in use since 1973. “The translation we know well is changing to reflect the latest Latin edition which Read more
The Fiji Literary Festival was held in Nadi from 2 to 9 October 2011. Speakers included Graham Davis, an independent Fiji-born journalist and publisher of the political blog Grubsheet, and Fiji Ministry of Information permanent secretary Sharon Smith-Johns. Both addressed issues regarding the role of the media in Fiji. Davis asked, “In reporting in Fiji which version Read more
The Fiji Government has granted permit to a 27 member Methodist Church group from California, to have meetings in Fiji.
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Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Affairs, Richard Marles, was recently interviewed about the relationship between Australia and Fiji. He said that Australia’s beef is not with the the Fiji people, “in fact quite the opposite. We want to stand with the people of Fiji in what is a very difficult time for them.” He said Australia took issue Read more
Perhaps we should not be surprised that Fiji dropped the democratic ball after the Hail Mary pass that their Colonial masters gave them at independence: a nation divided by tribal and ethnic barriers. In the course of Britain’s colonial rule so many Indians were imported to work in the cane fields, that by the time Read more
Representatives of the Fiji Methodist Church say they are managing to cope with a government ban, but it is not easy. It has been almost a month since the church was stopped from holding any events other than ordinary Sunday worship. The ban was imposed after the cancellation of the influential church’s annual conference. The interim government had wanted to prevent the President and General Secretary of the church from taking part in the conference, but the church authorities refused to comply. The associate director of church solidarity in the Pacific for Australia’s Uniting Church, Bruce Mullen, has told Pacific Beat he has been in contact with his counterparts in Fiji.
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