New Zealand

Two catholic schools in Christchurch win architects’ awards Comments 0

awards

Two catholic schools were among the buildings recognised at the Canterbury Architecture Awards last week. Catherine McAuley Centre at Villa Maria College received an award in the public architecture category. The jury noted of this project, “The building’s pleated corten cladding references the memory of Catherine McAuley and her protective shawl and provides an exterior that Read more

800 catholic educators gather for triennial convention Comments 0

convention

Eight hundred catholic educators are gathering in Wellington this week at the TSB Arena to celebrate Catholic education in New Zealand. The triennial conventions are designed to ensure that catholic schools remain authentic in their commitment to Church and State, as vibrant communities of faith and learning. The theme of the Convention is Christ’s Call: Read more

Asia Pacific

3rd priest killed: Bishops tell Duterte to stop verbal persecution of Church Comments 0

priest killed

Following the killing of a third priest in the Philippines, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, Socrates Villegas and other leaders of his archdiocese released a strongly-worded statement. They called on President Rodrigo Duterte “to stop the verbal persecution of the Catholic Church because such attacks can wittingly embolden more crimes against priests.” The church leaders have declared June Read more

Catholic church in Samoa accepts the new tax laws Comments 0

tax

The Catholic Church and the Methodist Church in Samoa have said that they accept a new law requiring their ministers to pay tax. But at a recent general assembly, the leaders of the Congregational Christian Church (CCCS) said they would ignore the law. In a speech in parliament, the prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi praised the Read more

Opinion

Our plastic pollution crisis is too big for recycling to fix Comments 0

recycling

Every minute, every single day, the equivalent of a truckload of plastic enters our oceans. In the name of profit and convenience, corporations are literally choking our planet with a substance that does not just “go away” when we toss Read more

The explosion of transgender teens Comments 0

transgender

The earliest written record from the town of Hamelin in Lower Saxony is from 1384. It states simply, “It is 100 years since our children left.” Historical accounts indicate that sometime in the 13th century, a large number of the Read more

Euthanasia: Catholic agencies are the progressive voice Comments 0

euthanasia

Representatives of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) presented their reservations about David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill to the Justice Select Committee on Tuesday. Bishop Charles Drennan, Dr Caroline Newson, who works in acute psychiatry medicine, Dr John Kleinsman and researcher Dr Sue Buckley from the Nathaniel Institute made submissions. Drennan talked Read more

  • Features

  • Small acts of kindness, not great speeches, show God’s love best

    pope francis small acts of kindness

    God shows his love, not with great speeches, but with simple, tender acts of charity, Pope Francis said. “When Jesus wants to teach us how a Christian should be, he tells us very little,” the pope said, but he shows people by feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger. Celebrating Mass in the chapel of Read more

  • Seeing the causes of suicide in our midst

    suicide

    When famous people commit suicide, we can expect expressions of shock that “someone who had everything to live for” would do such a thing. The supposed buffer against despair and dread had collapsed. If that could happen to a model of societal success, what did that auger for the rest of us clinging to low Read more

  • World

  • New law about confession premature, ill-judged, says Archbishop Comments 0

    A new law requiring priests to break confession seal is ‘premature and ill-judged’, says Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge. Priests are not using the seal of confession to protect child abusers. Removing a priest’s legal protection will not make children safer, Coleridge says. While he agrees children’s safety is paramount, he Read more

  • Catholic groups deplore law barring asylum for violence victims Comments 0

    Catholic groups have reacted strongly against new law enforcement measures that will prevent asylum seekers fleeing domestic or gang violence applying for protection in the United States. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says US asylum laws cannot be used to remedy “all misfortune.” This is even in cases where a person may be threatened with Read more

  • Pope accepts resignation of Bishop Juan Barros of Chile Comments 0

    Pope Francis has accepted Bishop Juan Barros’s resignation. Anti-abuse activists called the move the Vatican’s first concrete step in Chile to purge a corrupt church hierarchy implicated in decades of sexual mistreatment and ignoring victims. Barros of Osorno, Chile, has been at the centre of a sex abuse scandal for several years, having been accused Read more

  • Irish hospitals must perform abortions if funded by government Comments 0

    Irish hospitals that receive government money will be expected to carry out abortions when new abortion laws come into effect. This includes hospitals with a Catholic character, the Irish prime minister says. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says doctors, nurses and midwives could opt out of performing procedures on conscience grounds. If they want to keep Read more

  • Korean summit fills bishops with joy, prayers of thanks Comments 0

    The outcome of the Korean summit between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un has been greeted with joy and calls for prayers of thanksgiving. The United States and North Korean leaders signed a joint-statement making commitments “to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.” After the summit, Trump said Read more