Government Versus Archbishop

Timoci Gaunavinaka, Waila, Nausori The current impasse between Government and Archbishop Peter Loy Chong can be viewed from different angles. The Catholic Church can threaten to close all schools if their heads are not Catholics. Government can also threaten not to pay the salaries of teachers chosen by the Catholic Church that did not go through Government’s criteria of selection on merit.

There are no winners if that happens. Both will lose big time. Students and parents in those schools will suffer. They will also split. Some will accuse Government. Some will accuse the Church. Government is guaranteed four years to run. Can Archbishop Peter Loy Chong guarantee to close all these over 100 Schools for four years and survive in his post as head of the Catholic Church in Fiji?

The most reasonable solution here is dialogue and compromise. Government is not saying that Catholics cannot be Principals of Catholic Schools.

What it is saying that Principals of Catholic Schools must not be confined to Catholics ONLY. The same applies to other religion-based schools and institutions.

Let us imagine that only Catholics are Principals of all Catholic schools in Fiji and one witnessed a Priest molesting a student as it happens in many countries around the world. Would he be obliged to report it or would he choose to remain silent not only to protect his church and his faith but also his deepest secrets for he is the same priest he always confesses to.

Hundreds of cases of Catholic Priests molesting children worldwide were only discovered when the victims became adults and testified.

There were definitely witnesses to these filthy crimes but they all choose to remain silent.

In Fiji, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong promoted anti-Government sentiments based on incorrect data to his congregation using Catholic Priests to spread them on the eve of the 2018 election.

This act with a hidden political agenda is more satanic than holy.

If the Archbishop’s motion is to be followed, what is there to stop him from again using Catholic principals to spread similar anti-Government propaganda to the children and parents of this country? The bottom line is that our people voted for Voreqe Bainimarama’s Government to govern this country. We did not vote for Peter Loy Chong.

Peter Loy Chong loves to boast 2000 years of Catholic experiences to justify his argument. But there are pros and cons to every religion in the world. Even Adolf Hitler was a baptized Catholic.

Can the Catholic Church please print a list of the significant achievements of Peter Loy Chong in comparison to what Bainimarama has accomplished? Where was he when Suva was burning in 2000? Where was he when Fijians were killing Fijians during the RFMF mutiny? Where was he when Indo-Fijians including some who were members of his congregation were bashed up and had their houses looted? Where was he when a big number of his congregation including he himself were ethnically listed as “others” and not Fijians?

Peter Loy Chong loves to talk but Bainimarama walks that very talk.