Papua New Guinea’s justice minister has told parliament he will enforce the nation’s death penalty laws. Kerenga Kua told the chamber last Thursday a government task force had visited Texas in the United States, Indonesia and Thailand to gauge the mechanics of how to implement it, the Post Courier reported. “A full report has been Read more
Many former PNG missionaries, especially those from Aitape, were present at the funeral of Bishop Tony Burgess which took place in Sydney on 30 October. In the absence of Cardinal Pell, Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne was principal celebrant. There were also a good number of Australian Bishops present for the Requiem Mass. Priests from Read more
The validity of United nations report on Gender Violence has been called into question by the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, John Momis. He says that since the Report has not yet been formally presented to the Government, he is not “prepared to go into a point by point rebuttal of the findings”. Read more
The retired Bishop of Wewak, Tony Burgess, died in Sydney on Sunday 23 October. He spent 40 years working in Papua New Guinea. Arriving in 1973 he was sent to Karaitem near Lumi in the Torrecelli Mountains. Lumi was a large government station and the parish was under the care of Franciscan Fr. Tom Ritchie. Read more
The Pacific Council of Churches wants to see more consultation over the asylum seeker deal between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The regional church body says with the possible resettlement of asylum seekers from different countries in Papua New Guinea, a policy of assimilation will have to be looked at to help the newcomers fit Read more
The Pacific Council of Churches has responded with caution to the news that Papua New Guinea politicians have endorsed the idea of the country being officially a Christian State. Hela Province governor Anderson Agriru recently introduced a motion in Parliament to carry out a nationwide consultation on PNG’s religious status, which was passed unanimously. There Read more
The medical aid charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says it’s dealt with more than 13 thousand cases of family and sexual violence since arriving in Papua New Guinea in 2007. But it says the issue isn’t just a social problem. For many victims, it’s a medical emergency. In the last month alone, the group has treated Read more
In Papua New Guinea a government supplied fund of K120 million for church state partnership programmes has been wasted through misapplication and abuse. National Planning Minister Charles Abel will table a report on the Social Development Plan or Church State Partnership Program where K120 million has been spent with nothing to show on the ground. Read more
Papua New Guinea’s Muslim population has grown by some 500 per cent since the September 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, according to research by an Australian academic and expert on Islamic studies. Listen
Catholic Bishops have accused the PNG Government of ignoring the public debate on the death penalty and fast tracking their own agenda. Archbishop Douglas Young of Mt. Hagen said that while the Attorney General had noted that there had been widespread debate in the public forum he did not say who had won the debate. Read more