Major Changes In Church And State

Attitudes In The South Seas

• Britain to "Close Down" as a Colonial Power * Roman Catholic Church to Create Hierarchy in Oceania ® Protestant Churches Move Closer Together

By PIM Staff Writers

Revolutionary changes in secular and ecclesiastical attitudes towards the native peoples of the South Pacific are implicit in decisions made recently by the British Government and the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches.

THE decisions in each case will bring an end to eras of develop ment dating back to the earliest years of European influence in the South Seas. • The British Government’s de cision—to close the Colonial Office on July 31—will end a chapter in the history of the Pacific which began with the British convict settlement at Botany Bay, New South Wales, in 1788. The decision can be interpreted as formal notice by the British Gov ernment that its role as a coloniser and protector is over, and that it intends to give up its few remaining colonies in the Pacific and elsewhere as soon as it can. • The Roman Catholic decision— which is yet to be officially an nounced—represents the Church’s big gest step forward in the Pacific since Spanish priests brought Christianity to the Mariana Islands 300 years ago.

The Church’s intention is to create a separate hierarchy for Oceania and so pave the way for control of the Church in the Pacific to be placed in the hands of the local people. • The Protestant decision establishes a Pacific Conference of Churches.

Shrinking Empire

The decision by the British Gov ernment to close the Colonial Office, and merge what remains of it with the Commonwealth Relations Office under the new name of Common wealth Office, is the culmination of several years of planning. In that time the Colonial Office has been allowed to “run down”.

The work of the Colonial Office has been shrinking steadily with the diminution of Britain’s colonial empire, and it was well known in British Government circles that the Colonial Office, as a separate entity, would eventually cease to exist.

The date set for its extinction is only two years short of its 200th anniversary, as it was in 1768 that a secretary of state for the American or Colonial Department was ap pointed in addition to the two principal secretaries of state then existing. (As early as 1660 a “Council of Foreign Plantations” had been formed to deal with colonial affairs, which in those days meant the affairs of the settlements in North America and the West Indies).

British colonisation in the Pacific began exactly 20 years after the first Colonial Secretary of State was ap pointed. This was the settlement at Botany Bay in 1788.

It was through the activities of people in that settlement that Britain later acquired—always reluctantly— the four Pacific islands territories she now has.

These are the Crown Colony of Fiji, the British Solomon Islands Pro tectorate, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, and the British side of the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides.

All of these territories have been a burden on the British taxpayer, and it has been evident during the last few years that Government policy was to prepare the local people for self government as soon as possible.

This process has been accelerated since the Wilson Government came to power in 1964.

Even so, it could still be many years yet before the smaller territories become self-governing.

New Constitution

A conference to give Fiji a new constitution, which resulted in a considerably enlarged Legislative Council, adult franchise for minority racial groups, and a system of cross voting, was held in London in July- August last year ( PIM , Sept., 1965, p. 8). The new constitution, which will come into effect this September, was designed to try to get all of Fiji’s racial groups to work harmoniously together in the political field, in the hope that they could eventually be left to govern themselves. Britain is anxious to solve its Fiji problem far more quickly than most people realise.

In the case of the Solomon Islands, a plan for a new constitution to give the local people greater responsibility in their own affairs was published in May {PIM, June, p. 19). It will be put into effect before the middle of next year.

In the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, proposals to create a mainly elected House of Representatives in place of the existing wholly nominated Advisory Council have just

been published (see p. 12). It is also proposed to vest legislative and execu tive power in the hands of a govern ing council, including five local repre sentatives.

An especially notable aspect of the new GEIC proposals is the Govern ment’s wish to change the name of the colony so that the connotation of dependency will disappear (see p. 12).

This move will probably be fol lowed in Fiji before long, with the words “Crown Colony” being sub stituted by something else. At the same time, or earlier, the office of Colonial Secretary is expected to be replaced by that of Chief Secretary.

In the Anglo-French New Hebrides, Britain will probably find it harder to relinquish her role than elsewhere because of the attitude of the French Government which seems to be: “Never give up a territory once you have it, unless you absolutely have to.”

On two occasions in the past 12 months, Britain and France have had formal talks in an effort to hammer out joint plans for constitutional ad vance in the New Hebrides. But so far nothing positive has emerged from them.

With the merger of the Colonial Office and Commonwealth Relations Office on August 1, the permanent under-secretary of the Colonial Office, Sir Hilton Poynton, who has held the post since 1959, will retire.

Sir Saville Garner, permanent under secretary for the Commonwealth Re lations Office, who is also head of the Diplomatic Service, becomes under-secretary of the new Common wealth Office.

Catholic Hierarchy

The Roman Catholic decision to give the South Pacific a hierarchy of its own is in keeping with the British Government’s policy and also with that of the Protestant churches.

Under it, the Catholic Vicariates Apostolic and Prefectures Apostolic throughout Oceania will become full dioceses with their own bishops. And Oceania will have its first archbishop.

The changes have been planned over several years and an announce ment is expected shortly from the Apostolic Delegate in Sydney.

The new_ changes will affect the following vicariates or prefectures: In New Guinea: Aitape, Alexishafen, Dam, Goroka, Kavieng, Lae, Mendi, Mt. Hagen, Port Moresby, Rabaul, Samarai, Vanimo, Wewak, Yule Island and the North Solomons (Bougainville).

Elsewhere in the Pacific: The Cook Islands, Fiji, the Gilbert (Continued on p. 141)

and Ellice Islands, the Marquesas, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, South Solomons and Western Solomons, Samoa and the Tokelaus, Tahiti, Tonga and Niue, and Wallis and Futuna Islands.

The only Catholic archbishops in the South Pacific area are in Aus tralia and New Zealand.

There is intense speculation within the Church as to who will be elevated to archbishop in Oceania, but it is probable he will be in Fiji or New Guinea.

The changes pave the way for indigenous bishops in Oceania. The Catholic Church has none, although there are several indigenous Pro testant bishops.

Protestant Church Changes

The “nativisation” of the Protestant churches in the Pacific has, in fact, been going on steadily for a number of years.

Besides the appointment of native bishops and other local leaders, there has been an increasing tendency to create locally autonomous churches and to avoid giving the impression that the local churches are in any way inferior to those in the metro politan countries from which they sprang.

Thus, for example, the London Missionary Society in the Cook Islands has become the Cook Islands Church, and in Papua-New Guinea it has become the Papua Ekelesia.

In French Polynesia, the Societe Evangelique de Paris, which took over from the London Missionary Society in 1863, gave way to a locally autonomous church in 1963.

Meanwhile, the Anglican Church, which is widely known in the British Solomon Islands and New Hebrides as the Melanesian Mission, has been playing down the somewhat patronis ing word “mission” and emphasising the use of the term “Diocese of Melanesia” (of the Anglican Church).

“These days the young churches want to speak of themselves as churches not as missions,” an Anglican spokes man told PIM. “They want to show that they have come of age.”

Side by side with these develop ments, there have been strong moves towards unity among the Protestant churches in several different ways.

For example: • In Suva, the Pacific Theological College, the first fully ecumenical

college for advanced theological education has been established, with the Anglican, Congregational, French Reform, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches participating (see p. 37). • At a conference of 90 Protestant delegates at Chepenehe, Lifou, Loyalty Islands, between May 25 and «; ne .J°v a regional conference of the World Council of Churches was formed with the formal constitution of the Pacific Conference of Churches as a permanent body. The Rev. John Havea, of Tonga, was elected president of the Pacific Conference of Churches, and the Rev. Setareki Tuilovoni chairman of the Methodist Church in Fiji, was invited to become full-time secretary. • Discussions have been held recently between the Methodists and the Papua Ekelesia on the possibility of forming a United Church of Melanesia. Observers from the Anglican and Lutheran Churches have followed these discussions with interest.

A spokesman for the Methodist Church told PIM in June that the purpose of the proposed merger was “to demonstrate that we are all concerned with the same work and worship”.

The United Church of Melanesia would operate mainly in the Solomons and Papua-New Guinea.

The spokesman said that in those

territories in the past the various churches had had zoned areas of control. But this was breaking down as the people became more mobile and urbanised. ,

CdthollC Seminary

Moves From Madanq

J mHE Holy Spirit Regional Seminary 1 of Madang, New Guinea official training centre for native pries ts in Papua-New Guinea and the British Solomon Islands,—is to be moved to Port Moresby next year.

T he decision was made because it will bring the seminary near the Papua-New Guinea University in Port Moresby. The seminary takes only graduates from secondary schools and many of these will be attending the new university.

The seminary will be built op posite the Bomana War Cemetery at a cost of more that $300,000. It will include students’ accommoda tion with individual rooms, a large chapel, dining-room and sports facilities, together with a large central library. First buildings will probably be occupied early in 1968.

The Madang seminary will com plete the training of its first priests this December. All are from the Solomons.