Kīngi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII met with Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday. At the meeting, the Kīngi formally invited the Pope to New Zealand to visit him at Turangawaewae Marae. It was Kīngi Tuheitia’s first visit to Rome and his first such Papal engagement, usually reserved for heads of state. They Read more
An interfaith bike tour celebrated the Christchurch’s cultural and religious diversity by visiting eight spiritual sites across the city on two wheels. The inaugural Interfaith Memorial Bike Ride was organised on Sunday to bring people together after the tragic mosque shootings on March 15 and there was an air of excitement as we waited in Read more
The country’s newest political party Coalition New Zealand has had some competition finding a domain name. Since Brian and Hannah Tamaki announced the party, Kiwis have been snapping up domain names left, right and centre. Kiwi comedian Tim Batt was one of those who swooped in, buying the www.coalitionparty.co.nz page. Read more
Former Dunedin priest Magnus (Max) Murray has been removed from the priesthood following a formal church judicial process. While some have welcomed the laicisation, others say it’s too little and too late. Read more
The number of people waiting for public housing has almost doubled in the last 18 months. Some of the fastest growth took place last year and, at the end of March, 11,067 eligible households are waiting for a place to live. The near-record high statistics were released on Monday by the Ministry for Social Development Read more
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman is being accompanied by a security escort at all times following a series of death threats. The MP has seen a significant escalation in threats of violence following comments by ACT MP David Seymour, a source told Stuff. Ghahraman is an Iranian-Kiwi refugee, lucky to escape war and persecution as a Read more
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recently toured the South Pacific to discuss climate change. In Fiji last week, he told a crowd about “a kind of coffin” built by the US in the Marshall Islands to house the deadly radioactive debris from the 1980s. The “coffin” is the product of a belated American response to Read more
While other churches are closing down and amalgamating, Holy Cross Parish in Henderson has embarked on a $4.1 million project to rebuild and expand its church to accommodate more parishioners. The massive project started this year with the original Milan Mrkusich mosaic art depicting the Stations of the Cross being carefully extracted from the walls. Read more
On her first day back at work after a triumphant trip to Paris, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed President Russell M. Nelson, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Nelson told Ardern the church will make donations to leaders of the two mosques where a gunman killed 51 people in Read more
Department of Corrections staff were advised to be vigilant about escalated tension after a tweet by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki in which he warned of revolts in prisons. Tamaki later said the tweet was not serious. The department wouldn’t go further into detail “relating to a threat, or our response,” but said it took Read more