New Zealand

Restore Catholic Christchurch Basilica says USA writer Comments 0

Christchurch basilica

A writer living in the United States has made a plea for the Catholic Christchurch Basilica to be restored. Writing in First Things, Stephen Schmalhofer opines: “Let us hope that Macauley’s unknown traveler will arrive with plenty of practice sketching the restored cathedral domes in Christchurch. “To honor the blood and sweat of the missionary New Zealand Church and Read more

Michael Dooley to be ordained Bishop of Dunedin on Thursday Comments 0

Dooley

Later this week Michael Dooley will become the 7th bishop of Dunedin. His ordination will take place in the Dunedin town hall on Thursday. Over 1000 people are expected to attend including clergy, the Vatican’s diplomatic representative, the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Martin Krebs, civic leaders and other Church leaders. The ordination will be followed on Friday morning Read more

Asia Pacific

18 ANZAC graves in the Cook Islands restored Comments 0

graves

The graves of 18 Cook Islands World War I ANZACs have been restored and protected from the encroaching sea in Rarotonga. A group of volunteers, including the descendants of the veterans, have spruced up their grave sites by concreting and painting them. They also repaired the headstones, as part of the Nikao Cemetery Restoration Project. Read more

“You have no right to criticise us” Duterte tells Sister Patricia Fox Comments 0

fox

“Who are you? Just because you are a nun? You go back to your country and try to ponder the enormity of your problems,” said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. His words were directed at an Australian nun, Sister Patricia Fox, who was detained by immigration authorities last week. “You nun, why don’t you criticise your own government, the Read more

Opinion

Was Pope Francis right to tell a child his atheist dad may be in heaven? Comments 0

atheist dad

When the monsignor reached out and tenderly held the little boy’s face, I lost it. And it only got worse. When Pope Francis called the reluctant Emanuele up to whisper his question about where his beloved father went after death, Read more

Importing foreign priests is not the answer Comments 0

Importing priests

Pope Francis this weekend will ordain eleven new priests for the Diocese of Rome. At a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica to celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter, otherwise known as “Good Shepherd Sunday,” the pope will also ordain five Read more

Satyanand suggests churches launch own historical abuse inquiry Comments 0

historical abuse

The head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into historical abuse in state care has suggested churches could launch their own internal investigation. In an interview with Mike  Wesley-Smith on The Nation, Sir Anand Satyanand said he discussed the matter with the country’s senior Anglican and Catholic bishops meeting together recently in Wellington. “I raised Read more

  • Features

  • What did Pope Francis mean when he said the unborn and the poor are equally sacred?

    abortion poor

    When Pope Francis insisted that the lives of the unborn and of the poor are “equally sacred,” he was not trying to shift the focus of Catholics from fighting abortion to fighting poverty, he was trying to show they are part of the same battle, said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Read more

  • Queer Commonwealth: Faces of the global LGBT movement

    LGBT

    It should never be illegal to be who you are. Yet lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people continue to face high levels of violence and discrimination across the world. 72 countries criminalise male homosexuality, with 45 also criminalising female homosexuality. In the Commonwealth, 36 of its 53 countries maintain laws that make same-sex intimacy between men Read more

  • World

  • New Bible shows prophecies coming true Comments 0

    God’s prophecies are being fulfilled in modern day times, says American Rabbi Tuly Weisz. He and a team of biblical scholars in Israel,who work together as an organisation called Israel365, have published a new Hebrew-English Bible. “We tried very hard to illustrate the modern state of Israel and connect them to the miracles of the Read more

  • Intercommunion – Cardinal Marx and Pope Francis Comments 0

    Intercommunion – enabling non-Catholics to receive the Eucharist – is to be discussed in Rome. Although several news sources say Francis has already rejected a draft plan to allow non-Catholics who are married to Catholics to receive Communion in certain circumstances, it seems this is not the case. German Bishops’ Conference president, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Read more

  • Christian communities in Saudi Arabia possible Comments 0

    New Christian communities are on the cards in Saudi Arabia. At present, all other religions besides Wahhabite Islam are prohibited. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has recently begun a series of social reforms. They have raised the hopes of Christian communities in the Middle East. The reforms have resulted in Saudi leaders meeting representatives Read more

  • Bishop Juan Barros should resign over sex abuse Comments 0

    Chilean Bishop Juan Barros should resign because he covered up clerical sex abuse. Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati says Barros, who allegedly covered up abuse of minors, should ‘without a doubt’ resign. He also says he would not judge whether Barros actually had covered up abuse by Fr Fernando Karadima. “I’m not a judge” who can say Read more

  • High carbon energy investments divested by Catholics Comments 0

    High carbon energy investments are being dropped by a number of Catholic institutions and investors. The Global Catholic Climate Movement says the news shows the growing strength of the divestment movement within the Catholic Church. “When it comes to protecting our common home, we have not a moment to lose,” Tomas Insua, executive director of Read more