While numerous abuse allegations about a priest were upheld, New Zealand civil law meant it was almost a decade before his defrocking. The man faced complaints from more than one woman before being defrocked (removed from the clerical state). The former priest – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was defrocked last month. Read more
Bishop of Palmerston North John Adams has not ruled out accepting the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer’s priests into his diocese, reports the Christchurch Press. However Adams is being cautious, saying he will seek advice if the Sons’ ask to move to his diocese. He will also be considering recommendations from a Vatican investigation. Read more
The leaders of the Sons of The Most Holy Redeemer are taking legal action over their expulsion from the Christchurch Catholic diocese, reports Sinead Gill in The Press. Last month a Vatican investigation into abuse and unauthorised exorcism allegations recommended Christchurch’s Catholic bishop Michael Gielen ban the Order from performing Mass in the diocese. The Read more
A Wellington Catholic primary school is facing potential closure because of stagnant population growth in the capital. Parents of students at Cardinal McKeefry Catholic Primary School in Wilton have been told the Wellington Catholic Archdiocese had spoken to the Ministry of Education to consider the school’s future. Kelly Ross, vicar for education and the director Read more
The creative force behind the Paris Olympics opening ceremony has rebuffed criticism that his innovative production crossed boundaries, saying that it generated a “cloud of love and tolerance”. Thomas Jolly, the 42-year-old mastermind of the ceremony, addressed the controversy surrounding one of the most debated scenes which featured a nearly nude performer. He firmly denied Read more
The priest who removed a cherished painting from a parish church is forcing at least one parishioner to confront an unthinkable – the choice between her cultural identity and her faith. Anne Marie Brillante, a member of the Mescalero Apache tribe in New Mexico, says the recent removal of a cherished painting from St Joseph Read more
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care’s final report has changed the Catholic Church in New Zealand, says Palmerston North diocese’s Catholic bishop John Adams. Adams (pictured) chose to speak to media about the report so he could put a face to the Church’s response to the Royal Commission’s findings. The Royal Commission Read more
Thousands of Catholics participated earlier this month in the National Eucharistic Congress, a five-day event in Indianapolis that concluded July 21. Parishes and other Catholic institutions around the country sponsored adult education programmes to promote this final stage of a three-year eucharistic revival launched by the U.S. bishops. The revival itself has been subject to Read more
Catholic leaders have condemned a segment of the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony featuring drag queens parodying the Last Supper, labelling it a “gratuitous insult to the Eucharist”. During the Olympic ceremonies, 18 performers re-created the scene, a depiction of Jesus Christ’s final meal with his disciples before his crucifixion. The scene featured some half-naked Read more
In a May 21 interview with CBS, the Holy Father confirmed the exclusion of women’s diaconal ordination from the scope of discussion at the Synod on Synodality in the Catholic Church. There are undoubtedly many reasons for this authoritative decision, and it can be legitimately reduced to the pope’s personal conviction formed in prayer, which Read more