Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi

Photo: AFP

Bishop of Tonga, Tonga

Dioceses/Religious Orders: Diocese of Tonga

In 2007, Mafi was appointed coadjutor bishop of Tonga, succeeding his predecessor Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki as Bishop of Tonga in 2008. In 2005, Foliaki had signed a statement of good character authorizing Fr. Sosefo Sateki Raass’ to work in the Diocese of Auckland.

Prior to his transfer to Auckland, Raass had developed a public reputation as a sexual predator. In a signed witness statement provided to New Zealand’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, the family member of a victim described being approached by “Tongan Church and community leaders, relatives of young women previously involved with Sateki, relatives of Sateki and other members of the Tongan Catholic community” and told her about at least four previous incidents where Raass had been involved in cases of sexual misconduct with teenage girls and young women, two of which had allegedly resulted in pregnancies.

In March 2019, Raass was convicted of indecent communication with a person under 16 after a family member of a 15-year-old girl discovered messages on her phone where Raass called her “beautiful” and “hot,” discussed taking her to a swimming pool and hotel to drink alcohol, and eventually coerced her to send semi-nude photos and reported Raass’ conduct to police. He was punished with 100 hours of community service and avoided being added to the sex offender registry.

In 2021, Mafi had admitted to a journalist that there had been previous rumors about Raass’ conduct and that he had engaged in several conversations with Bishop Patrick Dunn of Auckland about allegations against Raass. Though Raass was working under the authority of Dunn, Raass had been incardinated in the Diocese of Tonga, and the diocese had been in possession of an anonymous 2005 letter raising concerns about Raass and a letter of apology from Raass to the bishop regarding his inability to fulfill his duties. Raass had been also been the subject of previous complaints in 2006, 2011, and 2014.

Bishop Dunn became the subject of a Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint filed by The Network of Survivors of Abuse in Faith-based Institutions & Their Supporters for his handling of Raass’ case after he failed to notify parents at schools attached to Raass’ parish of the circumstances of his suspension, allowed Raass to say mass after his arrest, and proposed to accommodate Raass while on bail at a church property on the grounds of a primary school. In 2021, Dunn later supported Raass as he sought a new job teaching at a Catholic school calling Raass a “talented man” and referring to his conduct with underage girls as a “big mistake.” This complaint against Dunn was taken by Cardinal Dew, who later became the subject of an allegation of abuse and subsequent Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint. Per Vatican policy, Dew forwarded the allegation to the then Congregation of the Evangelizations of the Peoples led by Cardinal Tagle. Tagle’s public praise of Dunn during the investigation and failure to oversee the continuation of the investigation into Dunn’s cover-up and enabling of Raass’ abuse was part of a Vos Estis Lux Mundi complaint filed by SNAP in March 2025.