Churches worried by emergence of cult

The advent of a cult registered as Fiji’s newest religious organisation has got the Fiji Council of Churches worried.

The group, calling themselves the ‘Sau Mana ni Yalo Tabu’ (magical powers of the Holy Spirit), display a strange mixture of Fijian culture and Bible teachings, said a Fiji Television report.

FCC general secretary Reverend Ledua Kacimaiwai blames the strict adherence to the constitutionally entrenched right to worship as the problem.

“These rights are taking us Fijians back to our dark past. Some are still worshiping ancestral gods and other gods,” said Rev Kacimaiwai.

The Methodist Church minister said the Registrar General used to consult the FCC seeking its opinion whenever any religious organisation sought registration.

The church would give its advice in terms of doctrine and extreme teachings.

“But that has stopped probably due to the human rights aspect. Our opinion does not matter as it would be superseded by the human rights to worship anyway,” said Rev Kacimaiwai.

According to reports, the new Wainibuka based cult was cast out by the Methodist Church a decade ago.

The Methodist Church, with more than 200 000 members, is the largest Christian denomination in the country and joins other mainline churches like the Catholics and Anglicans in the FCC.

The new group involves yaqona drinking with worship, which the cult leader Joreti Malimali says is the proper method of worship for Fijians.

Malimali also drapes himself in ‘masi’ (tapa cloth) during worship where he prays for Fiji’s traditional leaders in the 14 provinces and its ancestors.

The group hopes that its registration certificate obtained last month would enable it to pursue its goal of withdrawing an enormous amount of money.

The money was banked by the cult’s founding father some years back and cannot be withdrawn with the certificate.

Formerly a bank officer, Rev Kacimaiwai says he has experienced a similar cult in the past whose members were duped by false promises of large cash handouts.

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