News Shorts

Large piece of church land wanted for social housing

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

It’s the church v the state over a piece of land in Flaxmere. A Pentecostal pastor is claiming his church’s plans for a new religious community facility have been “ambushed” by the Government, which now wants the land for social housing. Read more

Viral TikTok video shows teen girls celebrating, laughing during an abortion

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

A TikTok video that has gone viral on social media shows two teen girls entering a Planned Parenthood, one of which appears celebratory as she is about to undergo an abortion. The video features a girl named Ashley that shows her stomach while the videographer holds Ashley’s positive pregnancy test. The video is titled “Abortion Read more

More than 30 organisations sign letter supporting abortion law reform

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

More than 30 organisations have signed an open letter supporting abortion law reform. The Government’s bill to take abortion out of the Crimes Act passed its second reading in parliament. Read more

Togo puts archbishop under house arrest

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

An archbishop has been placed under house arrest in Togo after calling for nationwide protests of the country’s Feb. 22 presidential election. Archbishop Philippe Fanoko Kpodzro, the retired archbishop of Lomé, called the re-election of Faure Gnassingbé a “fabricated lie,” claiming opposition candidate Agbéyomé Kodjo is the legitimate winner of the poll. Read more

German bishops elect new conference chairman

Thursday, March 5th, 2020

The German bishops’ conference has elected Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg as its new chairman. Bätzing replaces the outgoing chairman, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Münich and Freising, and will lead the conference for a six year term. The election of Bishop Bätzing was confirmed Tuesday, following a vote by the German bishops at their spring Read more

Vatican thanked by Jewish leaders for opening Shoah-era archives

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

Jewish representatives have thanked the Vatican for opening its archives of wartime Pope Pius XII to allay suspicions that he turned a blind eye to the Holocaust. Catholic leaders said they would open the vault to scrutiny on Monday but suggested this week that the paperwork would show that the controversial pontiff – dubbed ‘Hitler’s Read more

AI ethics backed by Pope and tech giants in new plan

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

The Roman Catholic Church has joined up with IBM and Microsoft to work on the ethics of artificial intelligence. Leaders from the two tech giants met senior church officials in Rome, and agreed to collaborate on “human-centred” ways of designing AI. Microsoft president Brad Smith admitted some people may “think of us as strange bedfellows” Read more

Muslims don’t want March 15 memorial service

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

Members of the Muslim community are unhappy about a planned service to mark one year since the Christchurch terror attack. But it will go ahead with their reluctant blessing. Continue reading

Florida man tackles deacon during anticipated Mass

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

It took ten parishioners to restrain Thomas Eisel after he attacked a deacon during an anticipated Mass on Saturday. Deacon George Labelle was tackled by Eisel, 28, while the clergyman offered a homily Feb. 22 at St. Coleman Catholic Church in Pompano Beach, about 40 miles north of Miami. “The Archdiocese is grateful no one Read more

Half South Korea’s coronavirus cases linked to controversial religious organization

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

There’s been a rapid spike in coronavirus disease, or Covid-19, cases in South Korea, and about half of the 433 confirmed cases are linked to a secretive religious group often viewed with suspicion by more traditional religious sects. At least 182 Covid-19 cases have come from the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the city of Read more