TARI – A church leader in Papua New Guinea has condemned the attack on a pastor and his family which resulted in the burning down of their home and the theft of church funds.

Pastor Daniel Hewali from the Agape Inter-denomination Fellowship in Port Moresby was commenting on the attack on a pastor of the Assemblies of God church and his family in Hela Province last Saturday.

Hewali said pastors and church workers must be respected and protected as they were “servants of God whose duty was to spread the word of God and change the lives of people”.

“Pastors graduate with the word of God and do not fight back,” he said. “That is why they are seen as easy targets. People who do this are asking for God’s curse by stealing the tithes and offerings.”

He supported Hela provincial police commander Superintendent Mark Yangen, saying such negative attitudes and conduct could only be changed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Churches are development partners in the country and play an important role in the spiritual lives of the people,” he said.

He called on the national government to help in protecting church workers and suggested that there should be an increase in police manpower in Hela.

“I appeal to the Hela people in the city and pastors to pray for a change in the province,” he said.

He said it was only God who could change the people of Hela. Hela provincial police commander Superintendent Mark Yangen earlier told local media: “Only God will change Hela.

When will people listen to their leaders and respect the law and change their behaviour?”

Yangen told The National that he would question the villagers who stormed the Assemblies of God church and burnt down the pastor’s house at around 2am in the morning.

He said it was disappointing that thugs entered a church premises while everyone was asleep, dragged the pastor and his family out, took the money and then harassed them again.

The pastor is recovering at Tari Hospital.

“People have no respect for the law with several killings occurring right in front of the Tari police station,” he said.

“Today, a church property is destroyed and pastor and his family harassed.”

Yangen will talk to councillors and community leaders to hand over the suspects who he described as “sick in the brain, have no respect for the church, the pastor and his family”.

Meanwhile, tribal fights have erupted again at Fugwa in Koroba- Kopiago district.

“When police have exhausted resources to end tribal fights at one end, another erupts at another end,” Yangen said.

In another incident, tribesmen of a man killed 10 years ago killed a suspect in that decade old incident at Tari market in Hela last Friday.

Hawi Iripu, 27, from Kikita One village was taken to Tari Hospital but died. Superintendent Yangen said that they were looking for three men who fl ed into the bush after the incident.

“I can’t believe that it is related to a killing that occurred 10 years ago. When will Hela change if we cannot forgive and forget?”