Reverend Nove Vailaau says during his research into pre-Christian Samoa he has discovered that smacking was not a feature of traditional Samoan language and culture. Accepting children into family life was a more inclusive process. Traditional Samoan values promoted the protection of children, not the infliction of suffering upon them. He says when the missionaries arrived Read more
Last month China’s, State Council released a draft of the new ‘Regulations on Religious Affairs.’ It is a revision of the 2005 law of the same name. When the two laws are placed side by side, the consistent trends, and the new directions to China’s religious policy quickly emerge: greater control and regulation. Religious scholars Read more
Unlike across the rest of Spain where the Catholic Church has struggled with falling numbers, the priest, who is known as Father Pepe, celebrates mass to a packed congregation with queues regularly forming outside his church. The 66-year-old curate delights the faithful by dancing the sevillanas – a traditional dance linked to flamenco – in Read more
Civil and church leaders in Fiji have been paying tribute to the late Emeritus Archbishop of Fiji, Petero Mataca. “He stood for equal opportunity, justice and dignity for every Fijian,” said the Prime Minster of Fiji, Voreqe Bainimarama, in his message of condolence. “Every Fijian joins me in mourning the passing of Archbishop Petero Mataca, Read more
Perhaps because of my visits to Tokyo I’ve been haunted by images from a film I saw some time ago. The multi-award winning Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson, displays a relationship that unfolds between two Americans – a middle-aged man and a younger woman – when they meet in Japan. Portrayed Read more
An evangelical church leader in Papua New Guinea says people will in time realise that the Speaker of Parliament was right to remove carved wooden heads at the tops of totem poles from Parliament House. Joseph Walters, a prominent evangelical church leader in Papua New Guinea, says the Speaker did the right thing, and there Read more
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands is disappointed by the Speaker, Theo Zurenuoc’s, decision to remove the traditionally-carved lintels above the public entrance into the Parliament’s public gallery. Conference General Secretary Fr Victor Roche is strongly against the opinion of the Speaker that the traditional carvings and decorations in Parliament Read more
US-dominated globalization is not compatible with cultures of the south. Among the 22 new cardinals receiving a biretta on February 18 from Pope Benedict XVI, 10 hold positions in the Roman Curia. Italians comprise seven of the 22, making them the largest group. Only three are from outside Europe or North America. So this consistory Read more