Mr. Mokofisi please define separation of church and state ^Featured

28, July 2016.

Editor,

After educating Mr. Mokofisi to the historical development and different interpretations of Separation of Church and State, challenging him to define what he meant by Separation of Church and State in our Tongan context, he ignored my challenge and instead of chewing on the meat, he swallowed the bones of my arguments.
 
Is bakeries closure on Sunday a denial of food for the poor?
 
Mr Mokofisi, may I break this to you.  If the poor have money they can still buy bread on Saturday and they can still eat those bread, if any leftovers, on Monday.
 
Let me help you reconstruct your argument.  You should have said, “Penitani approves denying hot bread for the poor.”  That’s more logical then I would have said that you’re right.
 
You’re blind that the Church leaders just did what they had always done.  They voiced their discontent and left it to the Government to make their own decision.  They did the same thing with the issue of CEDAW and the Government rejected them. 

That’s an evidence that there is still a Separation of Church and State in Tonga and that’s what I called the romantic dance of Church and State--sometimes they concur and sometimes they collide.  There is no violation of Separation of Church and State in our Tongan context.
 
Lest you forget, let me challenge you again to define the Separation of Church and State that you’ve claimed to have been violated by the Minister of Police and the Church leaders?   Remember there was and there is no one size fits all definition. 

The French, the British, the Americans, and the Tongans are all entitled to their respective definition and you Mr Mokofisi please enlighten us on what definition you want us to take or defend.
 
Apparently, you need to rest on Sunday so that your soul can tame your heart from creating more heat than light.
 
Respectfully Yours,
 
Senituli Penitani
Nomuka