Muslim activists in Indonesia want police to charge one of their hard-line clerics with blasphemy. They have joined Catholic students who accuse the cleric of insulting Christianity. They accuse the leader of the Islamic Defenders Front, Rizieq Syihab, of mocking Christians following a sermon on Christmas Day. He reportedly said, “If God gave birth, then Read more
The Catholic Church in Rabaul in Papua New Guinea says a Malaysian logger has fraudulently obtained access to some of its land. The church has gone to court to reclaim its ownership of the land. It says the logger illegally acquired the land, at Putput in East New Britain. But the church says it has Read more
77-year-old Br Charles ‘Charlie’ Randle is planning a bike ride of 500+ kilometres as part of his recovery programme after having a second knee replacement. His bike trip will also be raising money for the education of kindergarten children in two communities in Vanuatu. The Society of Mary looks after primary schools in the communities Read more
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill, has called on churches to take the lead in the fight against sorcery accusations and violence against women in villages. O’Neill said the old mentality and belief in sorcery was affecting the nation in rural and urban areas. He said the most affected were always women Read more
After a visit to Indonesian-controlled West Papua, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) says the indigenous West Papuans face “grave human rights violations and repression….in their own homeland”. A three-member pastoral solidarity team spent four days in West Papua with an “intensive” programme of visits and meetings. “Indigenous West Papuans shared with the CCA delegation Read more
A new Anglican bishop in the Diocese of Polynesia has been consecrated under a makeshift shelter on Vanua Levu, rather than the cathedral in Suva. More than 1000 people attended the ordination of Father Henry Bull as the new suffragan bishop of the Anglican Church in the Northern Division. He was ordained on Sunday (10 December) Read more
The Sisters of the Good Samaritan will be forging a new partnership early next year when educator and experienced lay missionary Brenda Keenan becomes the first person to take up a two-year placement with the Sisters in Kiribati. Brenda, who is currently serving as Director of Catholic Education in the Port Pirie Diocese, has a Read more
A member of the Samoa Fa’afafine Association,Tim Baice, said marriage equality is not a priority for his group or the Samoan community. last week Samoa’s Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi declared he was adamant there would be no same-sex marriage in Samoa after it was recently allowed in Australia. Continue reading
The Coadjutor Archbishop of Agaña Michael Byrnes says, since his appointment, making the Archdiocese transparent and accountable has been one of his goals. In that desire for accountability, he is now addressing concerns regarding the Kamalen Karidat (KK) ministries which have been raised by Concerned Catholics of Guam (CCOG). Established in 1993, KK helps provide food Read more
The United States Department of the Interior has given give Bikini islanders displaced by US nuclear weapons tests complete control of a multi-million dollar trust fund. This has sparked a leading US Senator to intervene to reverse the decision, and prompted concern at home. Until now, Federal officials and leaders of the Bikini Council met Read more