The G7 leaders’ vaccine pledge – to fund one billion COVID vaccines falls “far short” of what is needed. It represents a “moral failure”, Britain’s former Prime Minister Gordon Brown says. His comments were made on Sunday when he was delivering the Methodist Justice Lecture online. “The G7 summit was one venue where, with the Read more
Pope Francis has written declining German Cardinal Reinhard Marx’s 21 May letter of resignation. In his letter Francis says he agrees with Marx that Catholic leaders cannot adopt an “ostrich policy” in the face of the clerical sexual abuse crisis. “If you are tempted to think that, by confirming your mission and not accepting your Read more
German cardinal Reinhard Marx has offered his resignation as archbishop over the Church’s mishandling of clergy sexual abuse cases. The Church is at a “dead end” and the reputation of its bishops has, possibly, never been lower, his resignation letter says. The pope gave Marx permission to make his letter of 21 May public. “It Read more
There are many ideas about what synodality means, says Pope Francis. “It’s not a walk in the park”. It is “an ecclesial journey that has a soul, which is the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, there is no synodality,” he explains. Francis is promoting a synodal process that involves the whole church. It will Read more
Pope Francis, May 27, announced that British Archbishop, Arthur Roche (pictured) will be the new head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. (Liturgy Office.) Roche replaces controversial conservative Cardinal, Robert Sarah, whose resignation Pope Francis accepted on 20 February. The Vatican liturgy office is charged with overseeing the Catholic Read more
Pope Francis is inviting all Catholics to a seven-year journey to become totally sustainable. The “predatory attitude” toward the planet must end, he says. The new initiative, the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, is “a seven-year journey that will see our communities committed in different ways to becoming totally sustainable, in the spirit of integral ecology,” Read more
The Catholic Education Board has called off its legal action against the Government. The move comes following the 2021 Budget allocation of $52.8m, similar to the special capital maintenance payment given to State schools in 2020. State Integrated schools were left out of that payment. The payment will be made in two $26-million tranches over Read more
A prominent US Benedictine nun is warning Australia’s Catholic Church to stop suppressing Catholic reform from its ordinary members or face an inevitable decline. This is not the first time Sister Joan Chittister has called out Australia’s Catholic hierarchy. She was recently embroiled in a censorship row with Melbourne’s Archbishop. Now she is renewing calls Read more
A Government report from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) says New Zealand’s poorest children are continuing to miss out. The new Child Poverty Related Indicators Report, released Thursday, found there has been no measurable improvement in housing conditions, preventable hospitalisations or food security. “The report shows our children are suffering unnecessarily. “Polling Read more
Excitement followed by some questions have emerged among New Zealand Catholics following the Pope’s announcement, Tuesday, establishing a new ministry of Catechist. The big vision for the new lay ministry is that it aims to encourage greater participation of lay people in the teaching of the Catholic faith, and not just in places where priests Read more