Posts Tagged ‘security’

Bishop Steve Lowe – social media faked

Monday, July 17th, 2023
Stephen Lowe

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) warns that two social media accounts of Bishop Steve Lowe on Facebook have been faked. Lowe serves both as the Catholic Bishop of Auckland and President of the New Zealand Bishops’ Conference. The fake social media accounts impersonating Lowe have surfaced on Meta’s Facebook and Messenger platforms and, Read more

An informer is likely tracking you

Monday, August 23rd, 2021
informant tracking you

There is a narc in your pocket. It ratted out Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill, the general secretary of the U.S. bishops’ conference, and he had to step down. According to The Pillar, Burrill “visited gay bars and private residences while using a location-based hookup app in numerous cities from 2018 to 2020.” While pundits and activists Read more

The ethics of contact tracing apps

Thursday, May 7th, 2020

Tracing those who have been exposed to Covid-19 is an important step in winding down socially and economically crippling lockdowns. Manual tracing is resource-intensive and ineffective. A number of countries, including Singapore and Australia, have adopted smartphone apps using Bluetooth. New Zealand seems likely to follow a similar path. These apps vary in detail but Read more

Pope tells security not to worry about unscheduled visit

Friday, July 15th, 2016

Pope Francis brushed aside security considerations to make an unscheduled visit to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. After the Pope had been to the dentist on Wednesday, he said he had the idea to visit the commission. A security officer told Pope the visit would be “very complicated”. Francis replied by calmly saying, “I Read more

Poland and US organizers working to ensure safety of World Youth Day pilgrims

Friday, April 1st, 2016

World Youth Day organizers in the United States and Poland remain in touch with diplomatic and security officials in their respective countries to ensure that pilgrims will remain safe during the festival of faith in late July. Security is expected to be extremely tight in Krakow, Poland, the WYD host city, as authorities in both Read more

Extra security for Pope after Paris attacks

Friday, November 20th, 2015

Pope Francis’s personal security detail was nearly doubled at his general audience on Wednesday in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. Francis was surrounded by nearly 20 dark-suited bodyguards during his tour through St Peter’s Square aboard his open-sided popemobile, more than the normal 12 who usually jog alongside him. At each of the Read more

Plan for UK religious leader register to counter extremism

Friday, September 18th, 2015

Priests, rabbis, imams and other British religious leaders will be subject to Government-specified training and security checks according to a new proposal. Such religious leaders could also have to enrol in a “national register of faith leaders”, as part of the UK Government’s new counter-extremism strategy. A leaked draft of the strategy from the Home Read more

Pope Francis acknowledges he could be assassinated

Friday, March 13th, 2015

Pope Francis has said that if he is assassinated or attacked, he has asked God to spare him physical pain. In an interview with Buenos Aires favela publication La Carcova News, the Pope said he had asked the Lord to take care of him. “But if your will is that I die or that they Read more

ISIS threat to Vatican real, but no sign of attack plans

Friday, March 6th, 2015

The head of Vatican security says ISIS militants have threatened the Vatican, but there is no sign of any planned attack. The commander of the Vatican gendarmes, Domenico Giani, said security patrols of the Vatican perimeter are always on high guard. “There are not only the threats of the Islamic State, but also the risk Read more

ISIS militants vow that Rome will be on their hit list

Friday, February 20th, 2015

Militants claiming loyalty to the Islamic State (ISIS) have declared that they intend to conquer Rome. The warning came in a video apparently showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians next to the Mediterranean Sea in Libya. In the video, an English-speaking militant said they are sending a message “from the south of Rome”. At Read more