In Indonesia, a German-born Jesuit priest has been reported to police for defamation after calling a Muslim lawyer stupid. The lawyer, Eggi Sudjana, had said that Christian and other non-Muslim religions should be “dissolved” for having more than one God. However, Father Magnis-Suseno said there was “great stupidity” in Sudjana’s comments about other faiths. Magnis-Suseno, Read more
“The title instantly jumps out: ‘$EED or GR€€D? The Book Most Pastors Want You to Read!’” writes Nik Simon in the New Zealand Herald. “It sits at the top of former All Black Salesi Tu’ipulotu ‘Charles’ Piutau’s book collection in his Belfast apartment, next to ‘An Intensive Course in Tongan’ and a collection of other Read more
Last Saturday the Samoan Congregation Christian Church’s (CCCS) media officer sent out a news item to the effect that the chairman of the Church would be holding a press conference at 6 pm to announce he was stepping down. The item came in the form of a text from EFKS TV’s reporter and media officer Rula Read more
In Jakarta, a modern 9000 square metre mosque and a colonial-era Christian church sit across the road from each other. Despite their different faiths, the two houses of worship are friendly, helpful neighbours — and an example of pluralism in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation at a time of heightened fears over religious intolerance. Read more
The opposition party in French Polynesia is ridiculing President Édouard Fritch’s proposed visit to Pope Francis. The comment comes just hours after confirmation that Fritch will join a Pacific Islands Forum delegation to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican next month. The forum coincides with the COP23 climate change conference in Germany. The pro-independence opposition party, Tavini Read more
The bishop of Ruteng in Indonesia has resigned amid mounting concerns surrounding an alleged mistress and reportedly stolen funds. Bishop Hubertus Leteng, 58, was accused of borrowing $94,000 from the Indonesian bishops’ conference, as well as $30,000 from the Diocese of Ruteng. Continue reading
A 72-year-old Brigidine sister, Jane Keogh, is on Manus Island where she has been trying to help a mentally ill man at the East Lorengau Transit Centre. She says there is no help available for people suffering from mental illness. Last week an apparent suicide of a Tamil detainee was closely followed by that of Read more
The Archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong, has suggested that the sacred thread of connectedness in creation has been lost. He said this in a presentation Reweaving the Ecological Mat — Ecology and Development. This was part of a series of lectures organised by the Pacific Theological College’s Institute for Mission and Research, the University of the Read more
The five-year-old Rohingya boy was so emaciated that doctors could not insert a drip into his arm. “He said he hadn’t eaten anything in eight days. Nothing,” said Dr SK Jahidur Rahman at a clinic run by Bangladeshi medical charity Gonoshasthaya Kendra. He is one of the thousands of children facing life-threatening malnutrition in overstretched Read more
After 64 years working for many of the country’s influential leaders, Samoa’s longest-serving public servant is not looking to give up soon. Marie Margret Ripley’s deep and strong values are inspired by her influential teacher, Sister Patrick, who taught many of Samoa’s secretarial skills at St. Mary’s, Savalalo in the late 1950s. Sister Patrick belonged Read more