RENEWED RESISTANCE & THE LAST CIVIL WAR IN TONGA, 1852 (contd) The founding of the Catholic Mission in Tongas a staggering blow to the Uesiliana missionaries...for obviously Bishop Pompallier had scored a victory over them at this stage...theyre absent, attending a District Meeting when Pompallier and his followers arrived at Tongatapu expressing deep disappointment and indignation...Misa Tomasi reported to the Committee in London that upon returning to Tongatapu he found...to my great grief, that, during our absence, the Roman Catholic Bishop had succeeded in place a priest at the Bea where the Chief Moeaki, a man who professed Xty, but who was not a member, or even baptized, has embraced the heresy; and as the Bishop has brought a number of Tonga men from Walliss Island, who have embraced their dogma, he will have the means of greatly annoying us. It is thought that had Tupu [Aleamotua] exerted himself, he might have prevented this evil from taking place. (W-M Mag., Mar. 1843:261) Apart from Pea, 2 other Catholic centers existed on Tongatapu...1 at Hologa and the other at Kologa....both were formed from the people who came from Uvea with Bishop Pompallier in 1842...and whod returned to their own places of origin. Having now established their roots in Tonga, the priests proceeded with vigor and enthusiasm to pursue the task which they form...namely, the conversion of all Tongan, Protestant and heathen alike...to the true faith. According to Methodist accts, the priests traveled for a time to the various places where the Faifekau Uesilianas were already well established...endeavouring to subvert the faith of the native converts, and in the prosecution of this object, they resorted to every species of calumnious misrepresentation (West 1865:290). They alleged that at Hihifo the priests told the people the Methodist were misleading them...for theyre of Mr. Wesleys religion...which only began 100yrs ago and Mr. Wesley was no better than Jovili [Siovili] (an imposter, whos in the Navigator Is. a few yrs since and who deceived may) and also that their Bibles full of error (Farmer 1855:365).
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 07:21:08 +0000
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