Australia’s Catholic bishops have welcomed changes to a proposed religious discrimination bill to protect religious believers and institutions from discrimination and needless legal action, but they said more work is necessary for an Australia-wide law. “The draft laws are an important way to help people of faith and the organizations they establish as communities of Read more
The Catholic Church has been forced to apologise to outraged parents who only learned their parish priest had been convicted of sex offences through a story on Stuff. Sosefo Sateki Raass quit the priesthood after pleading guilty to indecent communication with a person under 16 in March 2019. He was sentenced to 100 hours community Read more
The transitional government in Sudan has agreed to turn over former President Omar al-Bashir and two other ex-government officials responsible for the genocide in Darfur to face prosecution at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands. The Associated Press reports that a member of Sudan’s sovereign council announced Tuesday that transitional authorities and rebel groups Read more
Six Carterton cabins for six young people in need are ready for them to move into. As soon as Carterton Baptist Church leaders hold their meeting with neighbours to sign off the young people’s names, they can take up residence and begin a better and safer journey to adulthood. During the young people’s time at Read more
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a former Roman Catholic bishop must answer questions about the history of child sexual abuse in the Rochester diocese, despite protests from his lawyers that the cleric’s Alzheimer’s makes him unable to testify. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Warren set strict limits, ruling that it would last three hours and Read more
Religious instruction at New Zealand state schools is about to change. Parents will be required to give explicit permission in writing for their children to receive religious instruction at state schools under a planned law change. It may be the beginning of the end of primary schools offering religious instruction. Education Minister Chris Hikpkins told Read more
The Irish Catholic Church has been likened by a priest to an old car that has gone off the road and “sunk into the bog and is stuck”. “The engine is still running, but the wheels are spinning and going nowhere,” said Fr Roy Donovan of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), who said it Read more
A senior Otago Daily Times journalist who spent months trying to get what he believes is a “worthy story” published has quit in protest. Late on Friday Chris Morris wrote an email to all staff at Allied Press, which publishes the Otago Daily Times. That email confirmed he was quitting over the non-publication of a Read more
German Cardinal Reinhard Marx has announced that he will not seek a second term as head of the national bishops’ conference, citing age and a desire to spend more time in his archdiocese as key reasons for the decision. Marx, who was tapped as the archbishop of Munich and Freising in 2008, was elected president Read more
Auckland’s shock “housing surplus” has been revealed, as a population correction means the city is now on track to meet demand. But the Salvation Army warns the 7168 house surplus won’t fix the housing crisis but instead shows that the shortage is caused by unaffordable housing and low income levels. The u-turn on the housing Read more