All she did was cross the street but that small gesture by the Queen made an enormous contribution to community relations in Northern Ireland. By walking from the Protestant cathedral to the Roman Catholic one in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Her Majesty set a standard for others to follow. Viscount Brookeborough, Lord Lieutenant of County Fermanagh, Read more
The number of victims – and perpetrators – of online child exploitation in New Zealand has more than doubled since 2019, mirroring a global spike in offending since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Data obtained by Stuff from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which refers cases to New Zealand agencies Read more
A new constitution comes into force in the Vatican on Sunday, with which Pope Francis has reorganised the authority apparatus of the Catholic Church. Observers see in the new document which has the Latin title “Praedicate Evangelium” (Proclaim the Gospel) a clear will to reform on the part of the 85-year-old head of the Catholic Read more
A reduction in family violence deaths is being attributed to Māori organisations, but a report says government agencies need to do more. The latest report from the Family Violence Death Review Committee (FVDRC) is calling for government agencies to be more responsive to whānau. ‘A duty to care – Pūrongo tuawhitu: Me manaaki te tangata’ Read more
The Philippines will look into thousands of killings in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, its justice minister said on Wednesday after a review of a sample of cases indicated foul play in dozens of deadly police operations. Menardo Guevarra said the Department of Justice (DOJ) would expand its review to include the more than Read more
Several experts on disability, who are also pioneers in developing a more profound theology of disability, have said the Catholic Church under Pope Francis is making good strides in terms of welcome and acceptance. They say still more needs to be done for “creative learners” to be fully incorporated into their ecclesial communities, beginning with Read more
A prominent traditionalist Catholic who was refused ordination by numerous bishops was suspended after being ordained in a clandestine ceremony by an unnamed “senior prelate”. Dom Alcuin Reid is a liturgical scholar, the prior of a monastic community in the south of France and a vocal critic of Pope Francis’ decision to restrict the Traditional Read more
During Christopher Luxon’s tour of KidsCan’s Auckland distribution centre on Friday, the charity’s CEO and founder, Julie Chapman, used the opportunity to inform the National Party leader of the dire state of child poverty in Aotearoa. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of need,” said Chapman. KidsCan was founded by Chapman in 2005, at the time providing Read more
Eleven of the Uvalde shooting victims were parishioners at the city’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and their funerals will be held there over the next two and a half weeks. Although there will be 11 funerals, 12 lives will be commemorated and prayed for – Joe Garcia, the 50-year-old husband of Irma Garcia, one of Read more
By the end of this year, the country will have more new residents than any other year on record. Almost 200,000 people have now applied to become residents under the fast-track visa, and one in four has been approved. Immigration figures show New Zealand has created more residents in the last six months than any Read more