New Zealand

10 questions for David Seymour Comments 0

david seymour

An extreme version of a very bad idea is how Matthew Jansen describes David Seymour’s “End of Life Choice Bill”. Jansen, Secretary of the Care Alliance made the comment in a media release, 12 July, launching the “Ten questions for David Seymour” campaign. The campaign, designed to prompt New Zealand Members of Parliament to give Read more

Episcopalian bishop raises Maori flag in USA Comments 0

flag

A  flag carried by 1998  Hikoi of Hope marchers now hangs in the office of the Episcopalian bishop of the diocese of North Dakota in the USA. Bishop Michael Smith holds it up as a symbol of progress made by Maori and as an emblem of the partnerships formed between Anglicans in Aotearoa and Episcopalians in Read more

Pacific

RFMF says it will stay out of politics but concern remains Comments 0

RFMF

The Republic of Fiji Military Forces’s (RFMF) assurance that it will accept the results of next year’s election has been welcomed, but there remain concerns about its the RFMF’s impartiality. Since 1987, there have been military three coups in Fiji within a year after elections. In an interview last week, RFMF chief of staff Colonel Read more

Faith-based organisations can help promote the rights of women and children Comments 0

Fiji’s Minister for Women and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa,  believes faith-based organisations have a strong impact on the protection of the rights of women and children She has encouraged these organisations to educate their various groups and family members to eliminate social ills and discrimination against women. Vuniwaqa said she is looking to work closely with Read more

Opinion

Single mothers are saints Comments 0

John Kleinsman - single mothers

Some time ago I found myself on the fringes of a group of Catholics discussing the impending birth of a baby to a teenage girl. I detected just the faintest whiff of scandal in the air – nothing said, but Read more

The timing of Metiria Turei’s benefit fraud admission stinks – as does her handling of it Comments 1

Metiria Turei

Don’t be hoodwinked by the humbug being uttered by those fool enough to be making excuses for Metiria Turei, the long-time Green MP and now it turns out an even longer-time-ago benefit cheat. Those heaping praise on her for what Read more

Giving money to beggars makes the problem worse Comments 0

beggars

Stephanie McIntyre has a radical solution for solving the growing number of people begging on the street: Don’t give them a cent. McIntyre is the director of Downtown Community Ministry (DCM) in Wellington. DCM’s main focus is on ending homelessness and supporting people to get access to income, but she says putting money in the hat Read more


  • Features

  • Why does U2 irk so many people? Their struggle for pop hits and social justice

    U2

    “They only want you to be the one thing,” Mick Jagger once told the novelist William Gibson. He was referring to his own acting career. It is odd to imagine a celebrity icon millionaire presumably so close to the heart of rock and roll speaking so wistfully of thwarted ambition, as if he once had Read more

  • Simple technology helps prevent refugee sex trafficking

    Refugee protection

    When Syrian refugees leave their camps, they pack three items: food, water, and light. The first two generally come in the form of packages from the United Nation’s World Food Program or other nonprofit organizations. The latter, however, traditionally came in the form of kerosene lamps, which are less than ideal. In fact, they’re often Read more

  • World

  • Youth winning Jericho: walls tumbling, bridges being built Comments 0

    A new youth centre in Jericho is uniting Christian and Muslim young people and has become “a school of peaceful co-existence”, as was intended when it opened earlier this year. The school is open to all people in Jericho who are aged 14-29. Most are Muslim. The Franciscan-owned and run centre offers free courses in Read more

  • The rubbish man and the Pope Comments 0

    A rubbish man from from Buenos Aires who was severely hurt in an accident early this year received a surprise phone call from Pope Francis last week. Maximiliano Acuña was at work when he was left without legs after a speeding car ran over him. Acuña, who is 33 years old and has five young Read more

  • Brisbane war memorial vandal blames God and Pope Comments 0

    One of the four men accused of desecrating a Brisbane war memorial on Ash Wednesday used Pope Francis’s messages of peace to justify the removal of a brass sword from a stone crucifix. In a police interview the day after the alleged desecration, Dowling admitted to removing the sword, and when asked whether he was Read more

  • Face reality says Jesuit child protection expert Comments 0

    Facing reality about issues of child abuse is a crucial part of child protection, says Hans Zollner S.J. Father Zollner is both President of the Centre for Child Protection of the Pontifical Gregorian University and a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He says the detailed report about allegations of  sexual Read more

  • Pope – pray for peace and reconciliation at Temple Mount Comments 0

    Pope Francis is urging people to pray for peace and reconciliation and has called for “moderation and dialogue” during an upsurge in violence between Israel and the Palestinians over Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Francis says it is with “trepidation” he is following the “grave tensions and violence” that erupted at the holy site on 14 July. Read more