Fiji’s education minister Dr Mahendra Reddy told the manager of a Catholic school to privatise it he he wanted the school to have Catholic teachers. “Once you privatise your schools you can appoint your teachers, you pay their salary, you look after the school and we will not interfere with you on whom you appoint Read more
Of Tonga’s 106,513 inhabitants, 64,156 are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormom) according to the Salt Lake City-based faith’s official statistics. That constitutes about 60 percent of the populace, independent Mormon demographer Matt Martinich told RNZ. But the number of “active” Latter-day Saints is much lower. “It’s more like about Read more
HAGÅTÑA, Guam — Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke and the Vatican tribunal is wrapping up the discovery phase and is entering another phase in the groundbreaking canonical trial of Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron. John Toves, the first to publicly accuse Apuron in 2014 of sexual abuse of a minor, testified before the Vatican tribunal at the Read more
A Catholic bishop in Indonesia’s Papua province has criticised a plan by local authorities in Jayapura to build “the world’s tallest statue of Jesus”. The bishop called the move a waste of much-needed money. The statue, which would be built at the top of Puncak Gunung Swajah in the city of Jayapura, would cost somewhere Read more
On Monday Cyclone Donna spiked at category 5 with winds sustained at 215km/h and gusting 260km/h, making it the strongest ever May cyclone recorded in the entire Southern Hemisphere. Climate scientist Jim Salinger said Donna’s lateness and intensity is a direct result of a changing climate. He said late cyclones such as Donna were rare, Read more
The Indonesian bishops’ conference has backed a government minister’s appeal against hate sermons that promote religious or ethnic intolerance. Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, issued the appeal on April 28. It contained nine points targeted at religious preachers and the broader public. Bishop Yohanes Harun Yuwono of Tanjungkarang, chairman of the Commission for Ecumenical Read more
There was a need for church leaders to stress the importance of discipleship to members, said Reverend Canon Dr Eleanor Sanderson. She was speaking to leaders and members of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Polynesia attending a training session at the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Polynesia. Eleanor says that in the early Read more
Honiara City Council Mayor Andrew Mua says he is in full support of the call to re-introduce capital punishment for people who commit brutal murder. More than a thousand people have taken part in a procession to condemn the killing of a Chinese couple murdered over the Easter weekend. Speaking at the procession Mua called Read more
The Archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong, has expressed concern about the effect development projects are having on people and on the environment. In his Easter message he connected the meaning of Easter and the “destruction of peoples, the environment and the planet.” A locally-based company, Gold Rock Investment Ltd, has invested more than $16 Read more
Former U.S. Attorney for Guam Alicia Limtiaco has accepted the challenge of being chairperson for the Board of Evaluators of the Hope and Healing group which is reaching out to victims of clergy sexual abuse on Guam. Continue reading