Nuns in East New Britain are setting up the first safe house for victims of family violence in the Papua New Guinea province. The Daughters of Mary Immaculate Sisters (FMI) Sisters are setting up the safe house because of a local family violence problem.. They’re working in partnership with the Archdiocese of Rabaul and non-governmental Read more
Family planning advocates in Papua New Guinea have accused the Catholic Church of restricting their work. The Church has contracted with the government to run health clinics. The contract requires that full family planning clinics be part of the service. Critics say the church is failing to prove full planning services. The Church advocates natural Read more
A Guam court has dismissed part of a defamation lawsuit about sexual abuse against Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana. He was facing several accusations of sexual abuse in the 1970s. In a public statement in 2016, the archbishop called the accusations “intentional lies.” The archbishop’s accusers brought a two-part defamation case against Read more
Another thirty-five refugees have flown out of Nauru heading to the United States for resettlement. Almost all who flew out yesterday for Los Angeles are single Afghan, Pakistani or Rohingya men. This brings to 84 the number of refugees who’ve flown to the US since resettlement began in September.
Veni Uhila watched television in New Plymouth and saw cyclone Gita destroy his Tonga home. The builder had a sleepless night. But he realised how bad things were in Tonga only when he got hold of his policeman cousin the next day. So now Uhila and his sons Taani, 22, and Siaosi, 10, are pausing Read more
Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, wants his army to shoot female communist rebels in their genitals. He says that would punish them for fighting the government Human rights watchdogs and women’s groups have criticised his attitude. Human Rights Watch says this is the latest in a series of “misogynist, derogatory and demeaning statements he has made Read more
An East Timor priest and academic on trial for corruption has accused the country’s courts of breaching the nation’s Concordat with the Vatican. Relevant parts of that accord require the prosecutor and court to inform the bishop of the relevant diocese in writing about a case against a priest. Father Martinho Gusmao contends that these Read more
A Catholic district head and leading candidate for governor in Indonesia’s predominantly Christian East Nusa Tenggara province has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes. The Corruption Eradication Commission arrested Marianus Sae, head of Ngada district on Flores Island on Feb 11. He is accused of taking bribes from a contractor working on infrastructure projects Read more
Port crane operators from Fiji are refining their skills on a crane simulator in Napier. Napier Port bought the $750,000 simulator 2 years ago and has started training Fijian operators. The training is so good, the Fijian Ports chief executive calls it “inspiring”. Hasthika Dela says, “the partnership has increased productivity, and that’s a direct Read more
A Catholic priest in Indonesia’s disputed Papua province is braving police interrogations and frequent threats of violence. He serves both civilians and combatants who want to end Indonesian rule. Father John Djonga of Jayapura Diocese has worked in the remote area for more than 30 years. Its population is poor, despite the land being rich Read more