WELCOMING AMERICAN SAMOA’S CATHOLIC BISHOP
compiled by Samoa News staffPago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A trailblazing church leader from American Samoa received a warm welcome last month as he spent several days with Hawaii’s Samoan Catholic Community, filling a week with fellowship, conversation and a final Mass and celebration.
Bishop Kolio Etuale Tumanuvao of the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago visited the Diocese of Honolulu July 8-14 and met the faithful through a number of events at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Wahiawa. In addition to celebrating the community’s Samoan-language Mass on July 13, Bishop Tumanuvao also participated in a welcome kava ritual, a meet-and-greet and a faith seminar.
Bishop Tumanuvao, the first Samoan native to lead the Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago, was ordained coadjutor bishop of the Samoa-Pago Pago diocese in 2023 and fully assumed the role of bishop last year.
Accompanying Bishop Tumanuvao to Hawaii was Father Pio Afu, chancellor of the Samoa-Pago Pago diocese.
Elizabeth Emanuele, secretary of the Samoan Catholic Community, described Bishop Tumanuvao and Father Afu’s visit as a way to “gather the Samoan people together in the Catholic faith … and to keep the culture going strong.”
Indeed, the Mass was a joyous celebration of God, culture and community. Joining Bishop Tumanuvao were Father Afu and Father Falaniko “Niko” Atonio, former pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows, as well as Deacon Francis Leasiolagi from the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Honolulu.
NEW DEEP SEA MINING DEAL
Tonga is considering a new deep sea mining contract with Canadian mining group The Metals Company (TMC) — and a local NGO says the government should not sign it.
The proposed contract comes at a time of increased uncertainty in the industry, with both the US and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) — the world's deep sea mining regulator — saying they offer a pathway to mine in international waters.
The Metals Company has been a key player in that dynamic as it has sought to undertake mining activity under both jurisdictions.
Civil Society Forum of Tonga's Drew Havea said the organization had been invited by the Tonga government to consult on the proposed contract from TMC.
Under international oceans law, Tonga has special rights in an area of the Pacific Ocean that has deep sea minerals.
The country's existing contract with TMC covered mining activity for Tonga's block of that area, known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ). That contract was signed in 2021 by then Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'ionetoa through the ISA framework.
Havea, who had not yet seen the proposed TMC contract, expected it would provide a path for Tonga and TMC to mine through the US as well as the ISA.
Just last month, the company announced it had signed a new contract with Nauru, another one of its Pacific partners.
LAHAINA FIRE CLAIM
While presiding over a FEMA Review Council meeting on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cited an eyebrow-raising statistic: 1 in 6 survivors of the deadly 2023 Lahaina wildfire on Maui exchanged sexual favors for basic supplies.
The data point was in sync with a Trump administration threat to abolish the federal agency responsible for coordinating a national response to major disasters. President Donald Trump, a vocal critic of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has said he plans to shift disaster management to states after this year’s hurricane season.
But people on Maui who lived through the Lahaina wildfire were taken aback by the way Noem spoke about Lahaina’s fire recovery and how she misrepresented this data, which is based on a recent report detailing the responses of just 70 Filipino women fire survivors to a limited survey. The report, which was conducted by the local Filipina-led advocacy group Tagnawa, was aimed at spotlighting post-disaster gender inequality and providing “constructive feedback” on the government’s disaster response.
The study says 16% of the survey participants, or 11 people, reported that they engaged in sexual activity with a landlord, employer, family member, friend or acquaintance in the aftermath of the wildfire in exchange for food, clothing, money or shelter. That activity is defined broadly — kissing, hugging and touching as well as sexual intercourse.
That the experiences of those 11 Filipina women became an unexpected political flash point baffled not just Lahaina wildfire survivors and those involved in the ongoing disaster relief effort on Maui, but data experts and even the organization that did the survey.
“This limited sample cannot be generalized to the entire population of wildfire survivors,” said Ruben Juarez, an economics professor at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa and the director of a study on the health effects of wildfires on Maui. “It is inaccurate and deeply irresponsible to imply that 1 in 6 people across Lahaina experienced this form of exploitation.”
Hawaiʻi U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono also called out Noem’s comments in a social media post on Thursday.
“Noem, Trump, and the rest of this regime need to stop politicizing tragedies and start doing their jobs,” the Democratic lawmaker said on X.
(Civil Beat)
Section: RegionalTags: PACIFIC NEWS BRIEFS
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