There may have been a royal wedding at Westminster Abbey on Friday, April 29 which captured the world’s media attention but for those at Marist Seminary, Auckland there was only one celebration on their minds. On Saturday April 30 at St Annes Manurewa, seminarian Petero Chanel Aparama Matairatu SM made his perpetual profession in the Read more
The Sydney-based think tank, the Lowy Institute has declared Australia’s Fiji policy a failure. In a policy paper to be launched on 2 May, it suggests Australia build an international coalition, including non-traditional partners such as India and Indonesia, to help Fiji draw up a new constitution and hold elections, as promised in 2014. The new approach Read more
The Fiji Government refutes Knut Ostby’s statement that Fiji is not doing enough to alleviate the rise of poverty. Knut, the UNDP Resident Coordinator has urged the Government to “review its response to the (poverty) problem, saying government has not done enough. “There have been attempts in Fiji for various social welfare schemes, programs, assistance to elderly destitute and Read more
The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) has condemned the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat’s (PIFS) continued silence and stand on the threatening nuclear contamination of Pacific eco-systems calling it unacceptable. PCC General Secretary Fei Tevi says the continued silence from the PIFS undermines the enormous works of the founding members of the Forum in their vision Read more
The deputy general secretary of Fiji’s Methodist Church says the government is allowing the Methodists’ conference to proceed this year – but only for one day. Reverend Tevita Banivanua said for the past two years the government has prohibited the gathering under the Public Emergency Regulations. He said while the church is grateful for permission to Read more
The United Nations Children’s Fund is concerned about poor people living in urban areas in Pacific region as global food prices rise. Since 2009 UNICEF has worked with six Pacific Island countries to establish early warning monitoring to track the impact of economic crises on the most vulnerable and to provide real-time pulse data”. It found Read more
Catholic students have called on local police and military to investigate a shooting in Papua. One man died and two others were injured. “We urge local police and military to immediately put their members (involved in the case) on trial, because they violated the existing law and human rights. Anyone who violates the human rights Read more
Church leaders attending a workshop on HIV in Suva this week were told they must be proactive and informed when they lead their congregations and communities in responding to HIV. “Do not wait for a crisis in your communities to start acting, be proactive and be informed, become HIV literate, learn as much as possible. Read more
The new Mulivai Cathedral that will look exactly like the 130-year old cathedral that is being pulled down. According to Catholic Church spokesman Father Spa Silva, the only thing that will be different is a that the new Cathedral will be elevated and that it will be twice as big. “But it will look exactly Read more
The Pacific Conference of Churches sees it as its “prophetic responsibility to comprehensively address issues confronting the realities of resettlement as a consequence of climate change”. Reaffirming the Pacific church leaders’ Moana Declaration in 2009, they called upon church communities in the Pacific: To be proactive in regards to the seriousness of climate change by seeking to Read more