State-Integrated schools are taking the government to court because it is refusing to give them millions of dollars of extra property funding. State-Integrated schools were left out when the government announced at the end of last year it was giving state schools $400 million to spend on their buildings as part of a wider package Read more
The Parish Priest of the Palmerston North Cathedral, Fr Joe Grayland, is thanking the local people and businesses for replacing many of the donated Christmas goods and much of the food, stolen over the weekend. “Their generosity has been outstanding, and it restores my faith in human nature”, he says. “They will literally help make Read more
Twin brothers Declan and Riley Colquhoun were born very early. At just 23 weeks and one day into her pregnancy their mother gave birth to them by caesarean section in Wellington. Their eyes still fused shut, they were put straight on ventilators, with their mum Kathryn Hutchinson and her partner Chris Colquhoun not able to Read more
In his new book Let Us Dream, Pope Francis recognises the success of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in managing the COVID-19 pandemic. “The countries with women as presidents or prime ministers have on the whole reacted better and more quickly than others, making decisions swiftly and communicating them with empathy,” he says. By way of Read more
A Franciscan cardinal-elect says he doesn’t want to be ordained as a bishop. He says he wants to continue being “simple priest” who is allowed to die in his Franciscan habit. Friar Raniero Cantalamessa (86) says he has asked Pope Francis “for a dispensation from episcopal ordination.” “The bishop’s job is to be a shepherd Read more
Thousands of the 27,000 New Zealanders who ceased receiving the 12-week COVID-19 Income Relief Payments (CIRP) have not returned paid work. The Salvation Army says although the application period for CIRP ended last week, only one in ten people who have finished their CIRP are in work. Some people have been able to transition onto Read more
Swiss bishop of Basel, Felix Gmür, is calling for the laity to be involved in the appointment of bishops. Gmür says the Church’s history shows that over time there have been different election procedures for bishops. “It was only with the publication of the ecclesiastical code of law (CIC) in 1917 that the right to Read more
Ongoing sex abuse rumors about disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick were never properly investigated, a Vatican report into his conduct says. Barely challenged, the US clergyman (pictured) ascended the Catholic hierarchy to become a cardinal – a prince of the Church. He used personal contacts to help him along the way. When challenged, he protested his Read more
Assisted dying will not be on offer to Gore Health patients. The health centre’s chief executive officer Karl Metzler has announced it will not be carrying out any end of life procedures. Metzler says Gore Health’s decision was made by its prescribing physicians. Not one of them support the bill. “None of them got into Read more
Concerns about New Zealand’s post-Covid inequalities are piling up. There is disquiet that the monetary response to Covid-19 is fuelling inequality by driving up share-markets and house prices. Recent Stat’s NZ data shows high-spending households are benefiting from zero inflation on the mix of products and services they buy. In contrast, price rises are still Read more