New Zealand

Teachers not trained to spot child abuse, reporting optional

Safeguarding Children

Teachers and childcare staff aren’t taught how to spot child abuse. If they suspect – or even know – a child is being abused, it’s up to them to decide if they’ll pass on their fears to agencies. Both these things have to change, say child advocacy campaigners. They want teachers and daycare staff to Read more

Catholic Theological College – Te Kupenga open

Catholic Theological College

History shows the future as staff and students at New Zealand’s Catholic Theological College – Te Kupenga, recently found their way to their new tertiary campus in Auckland. The century-old St Colomba Centre at 40 Vermont St, with its high ceilings and timber floors, once a Marist Brothers primary school full of rich history is Read more

Analysis and Comment

I was a McAuley High School student. It was no ‘joke’.

McAuley High School

Over the weekend, as Australia elected a new prime minister and Beauden Barrett landed a drop goal to secure the Blues a win against the Brumbies, a clip from an Australian podcast went viral on TikTok. On the latest episode of Jordan Simi’s Grouse & A Few Reds podcast, released on May 20, the topic Read more

When up is down

Gerry Whiteford

There came a time for Jesus the Christ to conclude his earthly ministry and return to his place with his Abba/Father. I would invite you to reflect on two paintings of this moment of Ascension. In these paintings, rather than focusing on the departure of Jesus, focus on the remaining community. The first is titled, Read more

Australia’s PM – Cultural Catholic of humble origins

Australia’s new prime minister is a self-described cultural Catholic with an agenda to make social reforms and take action on climate change. Anthony Albanese, centre-left leader of the Labor Party, claimed election victory on 21 May defeating the conservative Liberal-National coalition that has governed for nine years. Mr Albanese always described himself as the only Read more

Can I do my bit for the climate without committing to an EV?

climate change

In the same week the Government unveiled its Emissions Reduction Plan, I faced a moral dilemma as I traded in my vehicle for a fresh set of wheels. Do I blithely bow to the climate zeitgeist and plump for a plug-in? Do I take a bet each way on a hybrid? Or do I go Read more

NZ canon lawyer wants laity and transparency in bishop appointments

New Zealand canon lawyer Msgr Brendan Daly (pictured) says the Church needs more lay people in governance roles. Its episcopal appointment process could also be altered so it is more open – it could save a lot of unnecessary distress, he says. The clerical sexual abuse scandal shows the necessity for these changes, he wrote Read more

  • Oddly

    • Dad jokes and religious puns

      Religious jokes are (sacra)ment to make you grin for what might seem like an eternity and bring some laughter (and possible good-natured head shaking) to your day. Here are 45  Christian jokes and puns about the Bible, religion and dad Read more

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  • The only Trappist brewery in the US is closing

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    Tastes change – and the beer made by the only Trappist brewery in the US isn’t hitting the spot any more. Rather than change the recipe they worked so hard to perfect, the 45 Trappist monks at St. Joseph’s Abbey have decided to close their brewery. The “Spencer brewery” venture, begun after much research in Read more

  • Moscow-affiliated Orthodoxy faces uncertain future in Ukraine

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    Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox parishes are defecting to an autonomous Ukrainian Church. By the dozen. During most of April and May, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) has been losing four or five Ukrainian parishes a day. Most individuals and parishes leaving the UOC-MP are affiliating with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The OCU is Read more

  • Thriving priestly community in France asks Vatican for help

    priestly community asks Vatican for help

    A traditional priestly community, the Community of Saint Martin, has asked the Vatican for help to assess its rapid growth. The community is a public association of clerics founded by a French priest in 1976 under the patronage of the late Cardinal Giuseppe Siri of Genoa (Italy). It was established to send its priests, who Read more

  • Archbishop: Vatican’s approach to Russia “naive and utopian”

    Vatican's approach “naive and utopian.”

    In an interview with the Polish Catholic news agency KAI, the president of Poland’s Catholic bishops’ conference has said that the Vatican’s approach to Russia is “naive and utopian”. Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, 72, was asked about his meeting with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, following a May 17-20 visit to Read more

  • Nancy Pelosi receives Eucharist in Washington DC after San Francisco ban

    Nancy Pelosi Eucharist

    US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly received the Eucharist in Washington DC two days after the archbishop of San Francisco announced he would bar her from receiving the sacrament in his diocese. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who is known for his conservative views, said he would bar Pelosi from taking Communion in her Read more