PNG Catholic journalists discuss SORCERY on Patron’s Feast By Fr Giorgio Licini – Catholic Reporter PNG 24 JAN 2014. About fifteen Port Moresby based media practitioners gathered for the first time today, Feast of St Francis de Sales Patron of Journalists and Writers, for a few hours of study, prayer and fellowship. Organized by the Commission on Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands the sober event was hosted by the Emmaus Centre of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Boroko. Italian missionary Fr Franco Zocca, 70, a sociologist and anthropologist of the Melanesian Institute in Goroka gave a presentation on “Church and Media. A joint Reflection on Sorcery” explaining the plight of true or alleged victims on “both sides”. In his opinion only scientific enlightenment and a massive education effort can help overcome sorcery beliefs. Success, however, is not imminent. Bradley Gregory, a final year journalist student at Divine Word University in Madang and currently a trainee of Kundu2 TV, in fact reminded the audience that sorcery and magic beliefs are instilled in children at the breastfeeding stage for the simple purpose of parents keeping them silent and quiet. The recent repealing by the government of the Sorcery Act 1975 also had different effects on the public. While it appears just right and a proper deterrent to prosecute people who take the law in their hands and torture and kill alleged sorcerers, many members of the public and believers in sorcery saw the change in legislation as allowing further sorcery practice and letting it go “unpunished”. Fr Zocca also explained how the sorcery issue is made even more complicated by jealousy, personal grudges and outright lies against people who never intended to produce sorcery acts. Accidents, sickness and death caused by “hostile” individuals remain a deeply entrenched belief even in some of the most educated Papua New Guineans. St Francis de Sales instead challenges everybody to patiently and steadily seek the truth and uphold it, said Bishop Rochus Tatamai of Bereina recalling the life, work and teaching of the very committed bishop (Geneve, France) and fine writer of the seventeenth century. At that time sorcery was still not completely overcome in Europe. Both political and religious authorities had participated for centuries in witch hunt and burning: “A shameful page for Europe” - Fr. Zocca said in his presentation - “that was eventually overcome by the contribution of science and education.” But for modern PNG (and other countries with a similar problem), where both religion and the benefits of scientific enlightenment are at hand, the right recipe against sorcery remains elusive. People continue to die; children to be made orphans; families and communities to be torn apart.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 11:58:30 +0000
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