New Zealand

Departing Whanganui priest will be missed by his football club Comments 0

Bochkolz

Father Louis Bochkolz has proudly worn his collar while playing the game that he loves for Castlecliff Football Club in Whanganui The game last Sunday was a farewell celebration for him between Castlecliff St Anthony’s XI and a Whanganui combined XI which was attended by almost 100 people. Buchholz is from Belgium, he was posted Read more

Bishop Drennan delivers Keynote address to Sydney clergy Comments 0

drennan

Bishop Charles Drennan of the Diocese of Palmerston North was this year’s keynote speaker at the Archdiocese of Sydney’s clergy formation conference. The topic given to Bishop Charles was: “Icons of Christ: developing personally and professionally as leaders of local faith communities for the new evangelisation. Bishop Charles noted that leadership is currently a hot Read more

Analysis and Comment

Is it not obvious that the climate has changed over clerical celibacy? Comments 0

celibacy

I have noted with interest the recent correspondence from some of our retired bishops about how to respond to the dramatic decline in vocations to the priesthood. I celebrated my 48th anniversary of ordination at the end of July and am happily caring for two large parishes in south Liverpool. For most of the 1970s Read more

Abortion debate Argentina vs. Ireland: what made the difference? Comments 0

abortion

Early in the morning of Aug. 9, Argentina’s Senate soundly defeated a measure to legalize abortion through 14 weeks of pregnancy. (Their current law permits abortion in cases of sexual violence and to protect the mother’s health.) The intense debate—both in the culture at large and in the Senate chamber—often invoked a similar process that Read more

Teens are requesting plastic surgery to look like Snapchat filters Comments 0

snapchat

Social media is increasingly making teens dissatisfied with their appearance and obsessed with achieving a filtered version of “perfection,” even going so far as to pursue plastic surgery, say medical professionals. Dr. Neelam Vashi, director of Ethnic Skin Center at Boston University’s School of Medicine, published an article analyzing the new trend in Jama Facial Read more

Praying for peace at the Pentagon Comments 0

Peace

Every Monday morning for the past 30 years, members of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker community in Washington, D.C. have been making their way across the Potomac River to pray and nonviolently witness for peace in front of the most symbolic war planning, war-making headquarters on earth: the Pentagon. On August 6 – the 73rd Read more

Asia Pacific

Duterte wants to give bishops a swift kick Comments 0

duterte

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has once again broken his promise to refrain from criticising the Catholic Church. During the launching of an entrepreneurship alliance in Malacañang on Tuesday, Duterte reiterated that he has his own concept of God. He then Read more

Civil society organisation needed to regulate social media Comments 0

social media

A Fijian academic is calling for the formation of a civil society group focused on online safety and regulation in the Pacific. Jope Volavola Tarai is part of a social media research team based at the University of the South Read more

Celebrity chef priest and Martin Bosley will be sharing a plate Comments 0

chef

A priest, celebrity chef, martial arts instructor, break-dancer, award-winning author, radio and tv show host, Father Leo Patalinghug, is a multi-talented man with a unique message. And it all centres around food and God’s love. Patalinghug will be sharing this message, complete with a live cooking demonstration at the Family Banquet conference organised by the Read more

  • Oddly

  • Religion-free church lifts your spirits

    Congregational meet-ups without the worship can boost wellbeing in the same way as going to church or attending other religious groups, a new study suggests. Whether at the temple, church or mosque, worshipping together has long been linked to better mental and physical health. Read more