Condolence Message on the passing of the Late Honourable Fr. Simon Dumarinu, MS, MP – Member for Central Bougainville
It is indeed a sad time for Bougainville as we mourn the passing of our Member for Central Bougainville, the Late Honourable Father, Simon Dumarinu, MS, MP on Friday, August 9, 2024.
The passing of the Late Honourable Father Simon Dumarinu is a great loss for the Catholic Diocese of Bougainville and an even greater loss for all of Bougainville. Father Simon was a prominent spiritual leader in our communities and in his political career he was a leader who lived a life bound by the morals of duty to his people and faith in his God.
The Late Honourable Father Simon Dumarinu leaves behind the history and legacy of a great man who not only understood his people but shared with them their struggles and triumphs. I pay tribute to Father Simon for his devotion to serving our people and spreading the word of God during the Bougainville Crises. During this troubled time, he used his ministry as a priest to offer comfort, inspiration and spiritual guidance to many of our people and our leaders.
As the incumbent Member for Central Bougainville, the Late Honourable Father Simon Dumarinu worked tirelessly to improve the lives of our people socially, economically and politically. The launching of the Central Bougainville Five-Year Development Plan two months ago by Prime Minister Hon. James Marape, myself and the Late Father Simon was a key initiative by him to pave the way forward through empowered service delivery. I am truly saddened that his untimely passing comes at a time when he was about to implement his plans for developing Central Bougainville.
The Late Honourable Father Simon Dumarinu exemplified the balance between his vocation as a priest and his duty as a political leader. Despite his transition from the priesthood to the halls of the National Parliament, he maintained his modest and humble demeanour. His formation and vows as a Marist Catholic Priest imbued him with an unwavering commitment to Bougainville, his people and his God which was the core of his life’s work.
On behalf of my family, the Government and the people of Bougainville, I offer our deepest sympathies to the Marist Priests, the family of the Late Father Simon Dumarinu and the people of Central Bougainville. May his soul rest in eternal peace in the arms of his maker.
His Excellency Ishmael Toroama, MHR
President of Bougainville
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