‘Witchdoctors make money from false claims’

Catholic Bishop of Mendi Diocese Donald Lippert (in brown robe) with students from Kumin Community Health Workers Training School leading a protest march to mark the second International World Sorcery and Witchcraft Accusations Violence Day in Mendi last week. – Picture supplied

WITCHDOCTORS also called glasman and bamboo man make their business out of falsely accusing people of practising sorcery, a priest says.
Catholic Bishop of Mendi Diocese Donald Lippert said these witchdoctors made false accusations to destroy the dignity and identity of mothers and girls in society.
“This is totally the act of satan, this must be stopped, we are Christians and we must follow the way Jesus taught us in Scripture,” Bishop Lippert said.
“It is not the way Christ has taught us to follow and Papua New Guinea is a Christian country and why we are believing in these sanguma accusations, causing violence and abuse to our innocent mothers and girls in our country,” he said.
Lippert and Catholic Christians in the Mendi Diocese of Southern Highlands and members of other churches joined in a peaceful march to mark the second International World Sorcery and Witchcraft Accusations Violence Day at Momei Oval in Mendi last week.
The awareness march was led by Kumin Community Health Workers Training School, Christians from the other churches, youths, pastors, religious sisters and seminarians.