Pastor takes stand against asylum deal

 By GABRIEL LAHOC

THE Christian faith is slowly dying in the country and the government is contributing to its decline by accepting refugees from other religions to settle in the country as part of the regional resettlement arrangement, a church elder claims.

Pastor Newman Watapi, vice- chairman of Lae Ministers Fraternal, a group comprising pastors from more than 30 Pentecostal and Christian ministries in Lae, said this in response to critics after their initial statement on the issue.

“There are also strong indications as shown around the world that if the government continues with this deal after the first 12 months, the country will become a multi-religious nation,” he said.

Watapi said apart from the non-democratic display of not consulting the people of Papua New Guinea, “the Constitution preamble declaring PNG as a Christian country is now being tested”.

He said assessments indicated that Australia, United States and European countries became multi-religious after granting refugees citizenships.