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 and girls.

O'Neill called on churches to lead in driving awareness in the villages because the government could not go there. He said the elimination of gender-based violence (GBV) and sorcery accusations needed the help of the churches.

"Our churches must identify solutions and address these social issues in our villages and communities, and address it through mission and the word of God," he said.

"The church has an important role to play among our population by influencing people's behaviour."

O'Neill acknowledged church workers in rural areas but said the issues were affecting people.

He said the government was ready to work with churches to address sorcery and gender-based violence.

The prime minister was speaking at Mogl Kagai village in Sinasina-Yongomulg, Chimbu, on the first day of the 31st synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG.

The church's Bishop Rev Jack Urame said they were ready to work with the government to address issues that were affecting people in rural areas.

Two high-profile sorcery related attacks in January have highlighted how Papua New Guinea's problem with belief in sorcery is spiralling out of control.

The first attack was on the country's Chief Justice in his Highlands province.

In the second attack, villagers in Port Moresby attacked a man who they claimed had used sorcery to cause the death Kato Ottio, a former Canterbury Raiders player just days before flying out for a chance to make his first-grade rugby league debut in England's Super League.

It's believed Ottio was training with players from Queensland Cup side Papua New Guinea Hunters when he collapsed after a long running session.

He was taken to hospital but fell into a coma and never recovered.

Source

• The National
• RNZ
• Social Concerns
• Image: 4.bp.blog.spot

Father Victor Roche made this call, after reports from many parts of the country of torture and killings that have resulted from sorcery or sanguma.

"Churches have failed in their part to stop this, even though 96 percent of the people of Papua New Guinea are Christians," he said.

"Why we are not able to translate the Bible into our lives - and this is not a Christian value, so this has to stop.

Jesus did remove evil spirits from these people and we have the power to do that so pastors, layman, priests and others should preach more against sangomas and sorcery-related killings," he said.

Roche said the Government is not capable of effectively addressing the issue.

"Though it is funding and hosting a lot of seminars, conferences, workshops and others, these things are still happening.

"So, now it is the Churches' responsibility and I call upon the Church Partnership Programme that in the next forum, this should be the main topic," he said.

When asked if Catholic Church had programmes in place to address this issue, Roche said the Catholic Church has preached against sorcery in some parts of the country including Kundiawa, Mendi and Mount Hagen.

"There is also a centre in Mt Hagen where women who have been tortured and accused are rescued and are safely kept there and later returned to their communities and families.

"Catholic Church is taking efforts to prevent things happening at the same time, there are centres run by Catholic Sisters where women can seek refuge," he said.

Source

• Post Courier
• Image: Stop Sorcery Violence
  

In the 1650s, Ann Glover and her family, along with some 50,000 other native Irish people, were enslaved by Englishman Oliver Cromwell during the occupation of Ireland and shipped to the island of Barbados, where they were sold as indentured servants.

What is known of her history is sporadic at best, though she was definitely Irish and definitely Catholic. According to an article in the Boston Globe, even Ann's real name remains a mystery, as indentured servants were often forced to take the names of their masters.

While in Barbados, Ann's husband was reportedly killed for refusing to renounce his Catholic faith. By 1680, Ann and her daughter had moved to Boston where Ann worked as a "goodwife" (a housekeeper and nanny) for the John Goodwin family.

Father Robert O'Grady, director of the Boston Catholic Directory for the Archdiocese of Boston, said that after working for the Goodwins for a few years, Ann Glover became sick, and the illness spread to four of the five Goodwin children.

"She was, unsurprisingly, not well-educated, and in working with the family, apparently she got sick at some point and the kids for whom she was primarily responsible caught whatever it was," Fr. O'Grady told CNA.

A doctor allegedly concluded that "nothing but a hellish Witchcraft could be the origin of these maladies," and one of the daughters confirmed the claim, saying she fell ill after an argument with Ann.

The infamous Reverend Cotton Mather, a Harvard graduate and one of the main perpetrators of witch trial hysteria at the time, insisted Ann Glover was a witch and brought her to what would be the last witch trial in Boston in 1688.

In the courtroom, Ann refused to speak English and instead answered questions in her native Irish Gaelic. In order to prove she was not a witch, Mather asked Ann to recite the Our Father, which she did, in a mix of Irish Gaelic and Latin because of her lack of education. Continue reading

Sources

• Catholic News Agency article by Mary Rezac, Staff Writer at Catholic News Agency/EWTN News.
• Image: Wikipedia

"That's just in Enga and not counting the border areas of Hewa and Paiela," he said. "And the number of sorcery-related cases might in fact be higher."

Lutz said the latest attack last Saturday at Pompabus, Wapenamenda, left one woman dead and another with serious injuries after they were burned with hot irons and cut with razors.

The two women were blamed for causing the death of a three-year-old child.

Enga provincial police commander George Kakas said a post-mortem showed the child had died after choking on a piece of sweet potato.

Anton and Julie Lutz are based in Enga Province and have been active there in combating sorcery-related violence.

In June the Immigration Department attempted to have them deported.

The allegation made at the time was that the sponsoring church organisation no longer employed them.

It is not the first time they have been threatened with deportation - one particular occasion in 2014 was related to a dispute in the Gutnius Lutheran Church hierarchy between one-time Head Bishop David Piso and his former Deputy Nickodemus Aiyane.

Julie Lutz has been a missionary in Papua New Guinea since 1986.

Anton first came to Papua New Guinea with his family in 1986. He then returned in 2004 as a full-time missionary.

Anton's late father Dr Steve Lutz served in Enga as a missionary surgeon for more than twenty-three years until his death.

The Lutzes are missionaries of the USA-based Lutheran Church's Missouri Synod.

The church has been working in PNG since 1991 under a group called Concordia Lutheran Professional Mission Services.

Source

• The National
• The Loop
• RNZ
• ABC
• Facebook
• Image: stopsorceryviolence

Earlier on 122 suspects had appeared in court charged with wilful murder - in relation to the same incident in April 2014.he suspects were detained at Gusap police station and subsequently brought to Madang.

Of the 122 men charged, 99 reportedly appeared in the Madang national on March 23, with the trial set to begin in April.

Meanwhile they have been remanded in custody.

Twenty-four others failed to show. One other suspect had since died.

69 young men who were juveniles at that time were also charged and left back in Gusap , the youngest was a 10- year-old boy.

They were were accused of being in procession of offensive weapons and were given court fines of K200.

The alleged killing happened in the Naho Rawa Local Level Government area of Raicoas District in April 2014.

A party of men from six different villages in the Tauta area, raided Sakiko village located at the back of Ramu Sugar township in April, 2014.

Shortly after the incident a mass arrest was made by a police party under the command of former Madang provincial police commander Chief Inspector Sylvester Kalaut.

The suspects were detained at Gusap police station and subsequently brought to Madang. They were released on bail later.

At the time of the arrests Kalaut said the men were part of the group called "haus man".

The suspects are alleged to have killed five men they encountered while raiding the village, shooting them with arrows and hacking them with machetes.

One of them was then thrown into a burning house.

It is also alleged that they killed two boys, aged three and five, by slashing them with machetes.

Source

• thenational.com.pg
• thenational.com.pg
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: thenational.com.pg

Francious Kayembe said exorcisms and witchcraft were not common in the Congo, though the practices did happen in some sections of the community there.

However, it did not happen in New Zealand and abuse of any kind towards children was not accepted, said Kayembe, the president of the Auckland chapter of the African Communities Forum. Continue reading

He has described the nuns who venture into the worst areas of the country as incredibly and inspiringly courageous.

Lippert says they are putting their lives at risk in a desperate bid to reach those in need of help.

"They go right to the midst of where it is happening."

"They have been threatened, pushed, stoned and in one case burned."

"They have been accused of being witches."

"They are not always successful the first time, but they do not give up until they take the victim into their care."

According to Lippert "most, but not all, victims are women with no one to stand up for them."

"Women here (in the Highlands) are still in many ways, second class citizens," he said. "They make easy targets."

Luckily, so far the nuns have survived the attacks, and the bishop adds they and local helpers are not deterred from returning to help.

One problem, according to Lippert and many activists, is that the law is not enforced and the government does not push the police to act.

"Changing beliefs can take a long time. However, society has the duty of protecting the vulnerable and must hold accountable those who perpetrate violence against them. Right now people do these things with impunity," he said.

"It is a very complex issue involving all of the following - in varying degrees - fear, resentment, jealousy, marijuana, greed, culture, clash of cultures, diabolical evil, and more."

He added the complexity made it difficult, but not impossible to combat.

Source

• asopa.typepad.com
• Image: asopa.typepad.com

The footage, reportedly taken in a village of the Enga province, shows four women who have been stripped, tied up, burned and beaten. Several men prod the women threateningly with machetes while hurling questions at them.

According to a local Lutheran missionary, Anton Lutz, the video was first shared by local high school students on their mobile phones before it appeared on social media.

The Guardian reports that several similar acts in recent years have also been filmed or photographed and shared.

"It's not police photos or anything of the crime being shared," said a source who is involved in rescues of victims. "It's actual participants who are there and actually bragging about what they're doing. It's kind of like a Abu Ghraib video or something."

He said he was aware of many people sharing the video on their smartphones, including high school students, and said it wasn't out of horror but rather approval for the actions being taken against the four accused women.

The torturers later claimed the women returned the man's heart after they were tortured, apparently proving their guilt, according to the social media reports.

It is believed at least one woman died after the ordeal, but this has not been confirmed.

The Catholic Bishop of Mendi Bishop Donald Lippert is hosting a forum against such violence this week.

He says the key to stopping sorcery-related violence in Papua New Guinea is to hold people accountable.

High-ranking members of the Catholic church from around the region are expected to attend as well as Australian National University's Miranda Forsyth, sociologist Philip Gibbs and the US ambassador to PNG and the Solomons, Walter North.

Lippert says police and business community representatives will also attend.

He says the focus will be on introducing deterrents to sorcery-related violence.

"It's really difficult to stop someone from believing something so if people want to believe in sorcery for the rest of their lives, it's up to them, but they have to know if they act on those beliefs in a way that harms innocent people then they have to be held accountable."

Last December the Catholic Bishop of Wabag, Arnold Orowae, launched a campaign against the persecution of so-called witches, threatening any Catholics who get involved in sorcery-related attacks with excommunication.

In an interview, Orowae expressed his disgust with people who call themselves Christians and yet spread dissension linking innocent persons to sorcery.

He also said that the Catholic Church would fight against these witch hunters together with the police.

"The unethical and unlawful killing of women alleged to be witches must and will be stopped in 2015," the bishop said.

The Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea published an open letter in the two major Papuan dailies, condemning the persecution of pseudo-witches.

Source

• breitbart.com
• dailymail.co.uk
• theguardian.com
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: nsnbc.me

The woman - known as "Misila" - was one of four women saved by missionaries in January after a measles epidemic killed several people.

The women were accused of being witches by a "witch-finder" who was paid by villagers to identify the believed source of the measles outbreak.

Anton Lutz, a Lutheran missionary, said the woman was axed to death last week.

"What we're hearing is that on Monday about 10 men came and axed her while she was with her family," he told ABC News.

New laws in Papua New Guinea mean now that any 'black magic killing' is treated as murder and punishable by death.

However despite the reforms, the belief in witchraft continues to spread and there have been increasing reports of violence against women in many remote parts of the country.

"It's a very specific ancestral belief that this group has about all sickness and death being the result of these spirit beings that live inside of mostly women and their children," Lutz said.

Police said the villagers later agreed to perform a stone-turning ceremony in which they turned over stones to indicate that they would no longer make accusations of witchcraft.

Source

• abc.net.au
• independet.ie
• telegraph.co.uk
• Image: AFP/Photo/Simon Maina

A recent intervention preventing the murder of four women accused of sorcery is being hailed as a victory in the push to eradicate witchcraft-related attacks in Papua New Guinea, but those fighting the battle say the violence is still increasing.

Eves says the Catholic church in Chimbu province has quite a good response, "When somebody dies they are quickly on the scene, and start talking about alternatives."

Father Philip Gibbs is based in Mount Hagen in PNG's Western Highlands province, which shares a border with Chimbu.

He has taken a "particular interest" in working to combat sorcery-related violence, both in rescuing people and raising awareness among communities.

Often when he arrives at a town or village after hearing a person has been accused of sorcery, he faces strong resistance.

"I went to one place recently and … I wanted to speak to a woman who'd been tortured and they said 'no.'"

"There had been all sorts of intertribal tensions and they thought my presence would exacerbate those tensions."

"Where my coming might make that worse I have to really decide what's best to do.

"If someone's going to die out of it you have to intervene, but sometimes you can't."

There has been some "patchy" progress made in combatting sorcery related violence, Gibbs believes, but it predates government efforts.

Anecdotally, there seem to be fewer accusations in neighbouring Chimbu province after the Catholic church initiated a plan, he said.

"On the other hand I've seen a growth into areas where it wasn't there before. I think there is a net increase at the moment."

Source

• The Guardian
• Image: The Guardian

She says a recent case of witchcraft related hangings in Vanuatu had raised fears that the phenomenon had extended to other Melanesian nations.

The general secretary of the Council, Shem Temar, told Radio Australia International that pastors are supposed to promote Christian values which includes respect for human life.

He said more information was needed before he could comment on the actions of any individual pastor who may have had a part in the hanging of two men suspected of sorcery in Akaham.

Vanuatu Christian Council (VCC) is a non-governmental organisation. It is made up of seven member churches: Presbyterian, Catholic, Church of Christ, Apostolic, Anglican, Assemblies of God, and the Seventh Day Adventist.

Leniata Legacy is an NGO that was set up in memory of Kepari Leniata who was murdered by a mob in PNG.

Source

• Radio Australia International
• Radio Australia International
• Radio Australia International
• Image: pngloop.s3.amazonaws.com

Those arrested include church pastors and customary chiefs.

According to the Daily Post, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, John Taleo, has described the killings as brutal and unlawful murders.

The killings were reportedly carried out in the presence of the public, including children.

Reports from the police based on Lakatoro in Central Malekula said that police have already arrested over 40 people in Akaham following the weekend's murder.

Source

• Radio New Zealand International
• Radio New Zealand International
• indigenouswatch.wordpress.com
• Image: pngloop.s3.amazonaws.com

He was speaking at the Sorcery and witchcraft-related killings in Melanesia: Culture, law and human rights perspectives Conference at The Australian National University in Canberra, last week.

The conference was attended by a number of people seen to be critical to solving the problem of sorcery killings in PNG.

Sorcery in PNG has been in the spotlight for a number of recent gruesome incidents involving women being tortured and killed after being accused of witchcraft.

One of the main topics discussed at the conference is the influence of churches in PNG, and how they can bring about change.

Gibbs said when someone dies, some people will immediately blame black magic and hunt down the alleged sorcerer, and then proceed to torture and kill them.

He says a culture of blame and revenge is pervasive in PNG, and people need to be better educated.

"To try to help people come to a more scientific understanding of how things happen and why things happen. For instance, if somebody has an accident here usually the question asked will be 'well, who's behind it?' They're always looking for a personalised form of evil that's behind it."

Fr Philip Gibbs, SVD, is from New Zealand. He is a Divine Word Missionary and was ordained in 1978. Fr. Philip is an anthropologist and directs the Melanesian Institute in Goroka, Papua New Guinea.

Source

• Radio New Zealand International
• Image: Amnesty Australia

Kepari Leniata was accused of sorcery by relatives of a 6-year-old boy who died in the hospital the day before.

More than 50 men participated, torturing her with a hot iron rod, binding her, and dousing her in gasoline before setting her ablaze with a pile of car tires and trash.

No one was arrested in the organized killing, said Deputy Police Commissioner Simon Kauba. He criticized Mount Hagen investigators for their inability to make a single arrest.

"The incident happened in broad daylight in front of hundreds of eyewitnesses and yet we haven't picked up any suspects yet. I am very, very curious about that," Kakas said.

There have been several reports in recent years of people accused of sorcery, in most cases women, being murdered.

In July 2012, police reportedly arrested 29 members of a witch-hunting gang who were allegedly murdering and cannibalizing people they suspected of sorcery.

In 2009, after a string of such killings, the country's Law Reform Commission proposed to repeal the 1971 Sorcery Act, which criminalizes the practice.

'Sorcery' is also often used as a pretext to mask abuse of women, which was last year described as a "pervasive phenomenon" in PNG by the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women.

Source

• NewsMax.com
• AmnestyInternationalusa.org
• Image: ABC.net.au

However, in recent weeks there has been a sort of revival of this ancient ritual among some villagers in Tongatapu, and even church people have been involved.

It is so serious that last week the police were called on to investigate.

The practice, which is a form of witchcraft, has been used to defame relatives and "enemies" of the practitioners.

Wizard boards, cards, palm reading, etc. have been forms used to communicate voices from the nether world.

Source

The man would be the first saint to be recognised from South Africa, the weekly asserted.

Benedict Daswa, a businessman and devout Roman Catholic from rural Limpopo, was murdered in February 1990, aged 46, after rejecting claims of the existence of witchcraft in his village, Mbahe, near Thoyohandou.