Identity area
Reference code
AU PMB MS 1400
Title
Date(s)
- 1957 - 2014 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
Digital PDF scanned from originals
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Catholic Missionaries came to Papua New Guinea in 1848. Marist Missionaries landed on 28 May 1848 in Siassi Island (Morobe Province) and then the Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (P.I.M.E.) started evangelising in Woodlark Island on 8 October 1852. Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) began the Mission in Matupit Island, Rabaul on 28 September 1882. The Catholic Church grew rapidly in different parts of PNG.
In 1848 the Catholic Church was called the “Vicariate of Melanesia” which included all the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia. On 15 November 1966 the Hierachy of Papua New Guinea was established with Archdiocese and Dioceses. The Catholic Bishops Conference (CBC) has 19 Dioceses in Papua New Guinea and 3 Dioceses in Solomon Islands with a total of 23 Bishops.
PNG Dioceses: 1. Vanimo, 2.Aitape, 3. Wewak, 4. Madang, 5. Lae, 6. Wabag, 7. Kuniawa, 8. Mendi, 9. Goroka, 10. Mt. Hagen, 11. Kavieng, 12. Rabaul, 13. Kimbe, 14. Buka, 15. Alotau, 16. Port Moresby, 17. Berena, 18. Kerema, 19. Daru/Kiunga.
Solomon Islands Dioceses: 1. Auki, 2. Gizo, 3. Honiara
The Catholic Church is the largest Non-Government body to provide services – including education and health care – in Papua New Guinea.
The office of the first Catholic Bishops Conference in 1966 was at the residences of the Priests who were the General Secretaries. The First General Secretary with a structured office was Fr. Dennis Rochford, MSC in 1983. The first buildings housed CBC, Caritas offices and one residential building. Many Commissions of the CBC were operating from Port Moresby, Goroka, Rabaul or other cities as the need arose. As more offices were needed, additional buildings were added in 2000.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This collection includes press statements released by the Catholic Bishops' Conference. The statements cover subjects such as media and social communications (including freedom of the press), education (messages to teachers in Catholic schools, education systems in crisis, religious education), family and marriage (family values, bride price, violence against women, population control, polygamy, domestic violence, Catholic men, Fathers and leaders), Government and politics (Church and politics, Bougainville crisis, elections, leadership in PNG, letters to the Prime Minister, corruption in PNG, village court systems, casinos in the Solomon Islands, deteriorating state of the nation, slush fund concerns, environment, nuclear disarmament, starvation), Health (HIV/AIDS, STDs, Church health services, drug abuse, rural health centres), Justice, peace and development (Famine relief, respect for human life, logging codes, imprisonment of refugees, Australian Asylum seekers), Law and order (guns, attacks, Deaths of Catholic Church members, violence in Port Moresby, death penalty, crime and punishment), Liturgy, Moral and pastoral issues (abortion, Respect for human life, pornography, Charismatic churches in Papua New Guinea, Youth) and Theology (pastoral letters).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Chronological as found
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Available for reference
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
- Tok Pisin
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
See individual items
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Archive of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Waigani, NCD, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Digital object metadata
Filename
Digital_reference_image.pdf
Latitude
Longitude
Media type
Text
Mime-type
application/pdf