Georg Ratzinger, the older brother of the former Pope Benedict, died Wednesday morning, aged 96. He had been hospitalized in Regensburg, the city where he lived the greater part of his long life. The two brothers – one a musician and kappellmeister of a famous choir, the other first a theologian and then a bishop, Read more
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states violate the Constitution if they prevent religious schools from receiving some state benefits that are available to other schools. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 5-4 ruling, which further lowered the wall of separation between the church and the state and will likely affect laws and constitutional decisions Read more
A Tūhoe astronomer is the first Māori to win one of the country’s top science awards for his efforts to revitalise traditional Māori knowledge of the stars. Professor Rangi Matamua was awarded the top communication prize at the Prime Minister’s Science Awards on Tuesday. Read more
Following the massacre on 15 March 2019, case managers were assigned to the bereaved and injured to help them navigate their way around government agencies including the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and Immigration New Zealand (INZ). Muslim Association of Canterbury general secretary Feroze Ditta, who still carried fragments of the Read more
Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez has warned that statues of St Junipero Serra, the “Apostle of California”, will need to be relocated to protect them from desecration. One statue, in San Francisco, has already been toppled. As the church prepares to celebrate his feast day tomorrow, the Archbishop asked Catholics to invoke the intercession of Read more
Israel has decided to remove the U.S.-based evangelical Christian station GOD TV from the Israeli cable television provider HOT due to claims that it was trying to evangelize Jews. Asher Biton, chairman of Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, said he told the station last Thursday that it has seven days to halt broadcasting. The Read more
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement estimates that 100,000 people on 45,000 devices gathered in an online Zoom event to honor the late Chabad rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Schneerson, who died in 1994, led the movement’s transition from a small and insular Hasidic sect to an outward-facing global force. Tens of thousands visit his grave in Queens, Read more
Sales of staff-monitoring software have skyrocketed thanks to businesses wanting to keep track of what workers are up to while working from home as a result of Covid-19 restrictions. Ian Howard, CEO of brand and ethics consultancy Bright Street Studio, says even the names – like Time Doctor or Staff Cop – can feel “slightly Read more
A major victory for religious liberty has followed a federal court case. The victory occurred in the decision in Soos v. Cuomo. Federal district Judge Gary L. Sharpe has removed religious gatherings from the virtual ghetto in which Governor Cuomo, his Attorney General and New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio had placed them under Cuomo’s Read more
The mid-winter Christmas in Miramar began with carols. The plan had been to sing in the civic area outside the Roxy Cinema. Weather forced the event indoors, but spirits were not dampened as David Midland and Salvation Army Brass Band led the rousing mid-winter carols in the drier surrounds of the beautiful St. Aidan’s Church. Read more