Great reads

Anglican same-sex blessings vote applies only to England

Thursday, February 16th, 2023
same-sex blessings

Rumours swirling about the Anglican Communion in England’s recent ‘yes’ vote for same-sex blessings have been cleared up by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Decisions made by the Anglican Communion in England apply only to England. They don’t have an international reach, Justin Welby says. He reminded people of the autonomy of Anglican Provinces, as rumours Read more

Oceania Continent Synod report due sometime soon

Thursday, February 16th, 2023
Oceania Continent Synod

Despite some international media saying the Oceania Continent Synod response was released recently, CathNews has confirmed it has not been. Recently released was the report of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ of Oceania Conference (FCBOC). In January, a church group of about twenty representatives from across the Pacific gathered in Melbourne to synthesise the responses Read more

What’s up with Pope Francis? Something’s amiss

Monday, December 5th, 2022

At the very start of his pontificate nearly ten years ago, Pope Francis distinguished himself from his most recent predecessors by adopting an informal and colloquial way of communicating. He showed early on that he had no intention of merely reciting prepared speeches or sticking to the stodgy old Vatican script pertaining to protocols and Read more

Francis headed to South Sudan where people eat leaves to survive

Monday, December 5th, 2022
eating leaves

Around 40 percent of the people in Amothic, South Sudan are eating leaves off trees to survive. Some of the children have diarrhoea from eating them. Half the village is eating their seed stocks too, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NCR) reports. While NRC is helping around 100,000 South Sudanese, those eating their seed stocks means Read more

Pope’s women priests explanation “misogynistic drivel”

Monday, December 5th, 2022
misogynistic drivel

Ireland’s former president, Mary McAleese, has accused Pope Francis of “misogynistic drivel”. McAleese’s comment followed an interview Francis had with a US-based Jesuit magazine last month. Women are not being deprived by being denied the right to become priests, he told America magazine last month. Emailing Francis via the Vatican, McAleese pulled no punches in Read more

Catholic faith included in new RE curriculum

Monday, December 5th, 2022

Catholic schools will still be able to teach the Catholic faith, a Director of Religious Education at a prominent Catholic Secondary school told CathNews. Her comments followed an article published on the weekend suggesting religious education was being replaced by religious studies. The article went on to suggest religious studies would primarily focus on the Read more

Will the Rhine flood the Tiber?

Monday, November 28th, 2022
Rhine flood the Tiber

It’s all Pope Francis’ fault (or merit). Those who fiercely criticize the Synodal Path that the Catholic Church in Germany embarked upon in 2019 — and even those who enthusiastically support it — cannot deny that the Jesuit pope is responsible. The only reason the Germans have been able to spend the past three years Read more

Wanted: More women theologians

Monday, November 28th, 2022

Pope Francis had some suggestions for the International Theological Commission (ITC) when they met at the Vatican last Thursday. More women Francis suggested that the prestigious ITC could consider including more women in their group. Not because it’s the ‘done thing’ according to current fashion, he added. Rather, Francis suggests, women bring a different intellectual Read more

Belarus foreign minister dies suddenly ‘after secret talks to end war in Ukraine’

Monday, November 28th, 2022
Belarus foreign minister dies

The foreign minister of Belarus has suddenly died after reportedly holding secret talks to end the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Makei, 64, was seen as the primary communication channel to the West in dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s hardline pro-Russia regime. His death mysteriously came the day after he met with the Pope’s envoy Ante Jozić where Read more

Carterton parish house trucked south

Monday, November 28th, 2022
Carterton parish house

Wairarapa parishioners in Carterton were disappointed to see their parish house hauled away last week. Former parish council member Asrina Hutchinson​ told Stuff it was sad to see the building go after it played such an important role in the community over the years. “It was a very happy place and very much a parish Read more