New Zealand

66,888 students in Catholic schools in New Zealand Comments 0

catholic schools

The number of Catholic school students in New Zealand continues to hold steady. There are about 160 additional students comparing 2017 to 2018. This represents a less than 0.1% decline in the total share of students in New Zealand. This is the first year that non-European/Pākeha students represent over half of students in Catholic schools. Read more

Restoration work begins on Christchurch Anglican cathedral Comments 0

christchurch anglican cathedral

The steel frame in front of the Christchurch Anglican cathedral will come down next month. Some rubble will also be removed. Reinstatement project director Keith Paterson said he was pleased work on the cathedral was getting underway. He said the building and frame – which are not connected – were a dramatic reminder of what Read more

Analysis and Comment

What Catholics lose when they leave the Church Comments 0

leave the church

A Catholic is bound to view every act of apostasy or schism as spiritual suicide, a choice against life. This characterisation is borne out by three recent columns written by Catholics who have left the Church over the sex abuse scandals. None of the authors proposes any higher, truer teaching than the Catholic faith. None Read more

The one who comes after Comments 0

jesus

For most of my life, scripture has been a part of daily prayer, and yet there is something new every time I read it. This morning, John the Baptizer’s statement about Jesus as “The one who comes after me,” started a long journey of reflection. John, the wild prophet in the wilderness had always known Read more

Turn Christmas Catholics into regular Massgoers Comments 0

Christmas Catholics

No one wants to be the innkeeper in a Christmas pageant. You know the one, the door-slamming landlord who turned away Joseph and Mary before they became the Holy Family. Any other role is better that that one. Even wearing the scratchy sheep costume is better or being the rope pull on the flying angel—anything Read more

‘Silent Night’ turns 200 Comments 0

Silent night

The hills around Salzburg are alive, we hear, “alive with the sound of music.” Young and old, the people sing and hum and strum. The water in the brooks laughs as it trips and falls downstream. Church chimes sigh with the breeze. This music, we also hear, has been sung for 1,000 years. Maybe. But Read more

Cardinal Pell found guilty of child sex offences Comments 0

Cardinal Pell

Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty on five counts of historic sex offenses. The jury in a County Court of the State of Victoria, delivered a unanimous verdict on Tuesday. The verdict came after three days of deliberation and sentencing will take place in early February. Until then Pell is released on bail. This Read more

  • Oddly

  • Eco-friendly Christmas decorations

    Before you head out to the shops to buy bags of shiny tinsel and plastic gold bells, consider these ideas for eco-friendly Christmas decorations you can make at home. Continue reading

  • World

  • Vatican says three cardinals leaving C9 won’t be replaced Comments 0

    Pope Francis has released three cardinals from the C9 – his Council of Cardinals. Members of the Council (known as the C9 because there are nine cardinals making up the papal advisory group) advise the pope on Church governance and reform. Its work places a special emphasis on the reform of Pastor Bonus, the apostolic Read more

  • Spanish Jews want synagogue stolen in inquisition returned Comments 0

    Spanish Jews want a synagogue stolen by the Catholic Church in the 14th century returned to them. The Ibn Shushan synagogue in Toledo was closed 700 years ago during the rise of the Inquisition in 1492 with its policy of religious repression. This week Spanish Jews organised a religious-cultural event in conjunction with the Bishop Read more

  • Trump signs new law to help religious minorities Comments 0

    US President Donald Trump has signed a new law to help ensure humanitarian relief reaches the members of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria. The legislation aims particularly to help groups targeted for genocide by Islamic State militants. It enables financial and technical assistance for the humanitarian, stabilisation and recovery needs of former Read more

  • Gunman opened fire, killed people at Mass Comments 0

    A gunman opened fire killing at least four or five people people inside the Brazilian Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception. The gunman then took his own life directly in front of the cathedral’s altar. The man entered the cathedral just as midday Mass was about to finish on Tuesday. According to the Military Read more

  • Retired sisters accused of embezzling funds Comments 0

    Two retired sisters have been accused of embezzling funds from the Catholic school where they’d been working for over ten years. The Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet say the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has filed a criminal complaint against two sisters – Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang – for misappropriating funds from St Read more