President Rodrigo Duterte said he plans to invite Russian Orthodox missionaries to the Philippines as he hit the Catholic Church anew for supposedly “attacking” him. “I’m planning to invite the Russian Orthodox missionaries to come to the Philippines so that we can look for a place where we can build the Orthodox Church,” Duterte said Read more
Religious bigotry in Pakistan schools is forcing Christian parents to give their children Islamic names – according to a bishop there. Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that Christian children and other faith minorities were using different names to prevent them from being subjected to abuse. Read more
Sikhism is booming faster than any other major religion in New Zealand, having more than doubled its number of followers here since 2013 – and more than quadrupled since 2006. But the surge has not come without growing pains, Read more
Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn has been appointed by the Vatican to conduct an investigation of the troubled Buffalo diocese in New York, where Bishop Richard Malone faces accusations of covering up sexual abuse by priests. The announcement was made late October 3 by the Brooklyn Diocese, following a request from the papal embassy in Read more
Italian Challenger of Record Luna Rossa has launched its first AC75 in Cagliari, Sardinia. Last Thursday, TVNZ reported that the boat was blessed by the Catholic Church (sic), before being christened by Miuccia Prada, head designer of the fashion label and the wife of the team’s boss. Should New Zealanders get the impression that all 1.3 Read more
Wellington Cardinal John Dew emphasised Pope Francis’ solicitude for indigenous peoples at a celebration of the 13th anniversary of Māori King Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII’s coronation. Cardinal Dew, who was invited to preach at the multi-denominational service part of the celebration on August 20, said a report of the meeting between Pope Francis and Read more
The flaws in the Coalition’s religious discrimination bill are “so serious” it cannot be supported in its current form, the Sydney Anglican diocese has warned. Bishop Michael Stead has warned the bill would force Anglican youth camps to host Satanist masses at its campsites and has the “perverse effect” of encouraging companies such as Qantas Read more
A group aiming to stop a national tour by a New Zealand-based “psychic” is challenging the ethics of the host venues. The New Zealand Skeptics group has emailed all the venues booked for the tour of spiritual medium Jeanette Wilson, in a bid to shut it down Read more
A Canadian artist’s sculpture has been unveiled in St. Peter’s Square by Pope Francis as part of a Mass for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees. “I wanted this artistic work here in St. Peter’s Square to remind everyone of the evangelical challenge of hospitality,” Francis said. The work in bronze and clay by Read more