Hundreds gathered in Apia on the Wednesday before Easter for the funeral of prominent businessman and philanthropist La’auli Alan Grey in what’s been described as a who’s who of Samoan society. His funeral Mass was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Mulivai. Grey was the unassuming but astute businessman who took the legendary Aggie Read more
A visit by three former Papua New Guinea prime ministers in an attempt to stop Bouganvilleans voting for independence is a “complete waste of time and absurd,” says Martin Miriori, a leading figure in the Bougainville separatist movement. Miriori is the former Bougainville Interim Government (BIG) and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) and Secretary and Read more
From among the 300 young Catholics attending the pre-synod meeting in Rome, Paul Collins from American Samoa was one of those chosen to greet Pope Francis. Collins had been one of the last of the delegates to arrive at the Vatican. He was not the original delegate chosen to represent Oceania. But a last-minute withdrawal Read more
An official letter that girls’ rugby and boxing went against Tongan women’s dignity and culture did not represent official government policy says Prime Minister Akilisi Pōhiva. Continue reading
Relatively little attention has been paid to the contribution made by the large number of Pacific Islands police who served in the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) RAMSI retained high levels of popular support until the mission finally ended in June 2017. For most Solomon Islanders, it was the mission’s Participating Police Read more
“Members of our Church, our island community, even those who have watched closely from beyond the seas, surely ask ‘now what?’” This was the question posed by Archbishop of Hagåtña (Guam), Michael Byrnes, at a press conference on Tuesday. He was speaking after an Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that it Read more
There has been outrage among Tongans over an official letter purporting to ban girls at the country’s state school from playing rugby and boxing. The letter from the Ministry of Education informed staff at Tonga High School that the girls shouldn’t be playing such sports because it goes against young women’s dignity and Tongan culture Read more
As there has been an increase in violence committed against parishes throughout Indonesia, Church officials in the country have urged Catholics to be vigilant, especially during Holy Week. “We call on each parish and mission station to stay alert ahead of the observance of Holy Week and Easter,” said Father Felix Astono Atmojo, vicar-general of Read more
The Vatican has convicted the suspended Anthony Apuron, Archbishop of Agaña (Guam), of some charges made against him of sexually abusing minors. A five-judge apostolic tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced its verdict in Apuron’s canonical case on March 16. The release did not specify which acts the archbishop had been Read more
Tonga’s Cardinal Mafi sees the growth of Mormonism in his country as “a wake-up call for all churches and especially for our local Catholic churches.” According to official Mormon statistics, there are over 64,000 people in Tonga today who are Mormon equivalent to around 60% of the total population of Tonga (approximately 107,000 people). This Read more