Gutnius Lutherans had no part in repealing act: Council member

 THE Gutnius Lutheran Church of PNG says it has nothing to do with the repealing of the Lutheran University Act in 2014.

Church council member Stephen Pulipilya said this in response to a statement by Rimbink Pato, the Lutheran University of PNG Establishment committee chairman, saying the head bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG and GLC-PNG were behind the change in legislation.

Pato was chairman until the LUPNG Act 2006 was repealed and replaced by the LUPNG Act 2012. Parliament in March 2012 enacted the latter legislation. 

Parliament repealed the LUPNG Act 2006 through a provision in the LUPNG Act 2012. 

In November 2014, an amendment was made in Parliament to restore the LUPNG Act 2006 under the LUPNG (Amendment) Act 2014.  

It also repealed ELC-PNG’s LUPNG Act 2012.  

The ELC-PNG has questioned the manner in which the LUPNG Act 2012 to set up a Lutheran university in Lae was hastily repealed by Parliament in November 2014.

It said the repealing of the act was done without its knowledge.

Pato said Bishop Giegere Wenge of the ELC-PNG and Bishop David Piso of the GLC-PNG backed the change in legislation. Pulipilya said GLC-PNG did not accept Pato’s statement.

“The GLC has had no synod for the last 20 years,” he said.

“And there was no synod meeting minutes passed to change the LUPNG Act 2012.”