Stella Assange, the wife of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, met Pope Francis in the Vatican last Friday. The two Assange children accompanied their mother to the meeting. Afterwards, she described the Holy Father as a “massive moral protection.” Stella Assange said they spoke about her husband’s “day-to-day suffering in prison, the cruelty of being Read more
“The ongoing issue of low attendance in NZ Catholic schools is a pressing concern” says Dr Kevin Shore, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO). “Student success is vital. It opens doors to life’s best opportunities and allows school graduates to contribute positively to society,” Shore told CathNews. Acknowledging that the factors Read more
Kiwis do not understand how best to fight climate change. A recent Ipsos poll reveals a significant disconnect between New Zealanders’ perceptions and the actual impact of individual actions on greenhouse gas emissions. As reported by Newsroom, the survey was conducted among 1002 participants in New Zealand, compared with responses from 21,231 individuals across 29 Read more
It was a crowded church in Singapore, and a young priest was talking about a recent first communion. A little girl had run back to her parents, shouting, “I just ate Jesus!” Later, the child asked her mother, “How does Jesus get from our stomach to our heart?” The mother replied, “Jesus can do anything.” Read more
The Church of England is considering renting out underused parish churches due to decreased regular worship attendance. The move aims to preserve the potential for these churches to reopen in the future rather than be sold off after merging with larger parishes. This proposal is set for discussion by the General Synod, the Church’s legislative Read more
Gore’s St Peter’s College principal wants an apology from the school’s board of trustees’ chairperson after the limited statutory manager’s report highlighted flaws in the school’s governance. After the board and principal sought Education Ministry support, the Catholic co-ed school went into limited statutory management in April. The report Several issues “pose risks to the Read more
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Pope Francis, who has a knack for dropping bombshells in July when his predecessors would normally leave town for a summer holiday. He has again started off the month with a bang by naming Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández of La Plata (Argentina) as the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Read more
It has been a little more than a year since I started brushing up on my Italian. An unlikely invitation had landed in my Whatsapp messages, and yet again, my plans to spend a few months writing a new book were interrupted. This time the invitation was to help with the work toward the Synod Read more
Annie Hill, an artist and advocate for sexual abuse survivors, wants her artwork removed from the prestigious Wallace Collection after its founder, Sir James Wallace, was found guilty of indecently assaulting three men. Hill is a survivor of sexual abuse by Fr Michael Shirres and told RNZ she has been re-traumatised by Wallace’s naming. In Read more