An Australian teen who has come to be known as ‘egg boy’ after he”egged” a far-right senator over his offensive comments about the Christchurch mosque attacks says he has donated almost Aus$100,000 (US$69,000) raised for his legal defence, to the victims of the shootings. William Connolly, nicknamed “Eggboy”, made international headlines when he cracked an Read more
A rash of fires that police say were intentionally set at Jewish community centers in Chicago and around Boston last week has left Jewish groups feeling vulnerable. At the Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Arlington, Mass., where Rabbi Avi Bukiet and his family live about 20 minutes outside of Boston, firefighters were called to Read more
An interfaith bike tour celebrated the Christchurch’s cultural and religious diversity by visiting eight spiritual sites across the city on two wheels. The inaugural Interfaith Memorial Bike Ride was organised on Sunday to bring people together after the tragic mosque shootings on March 15 and there was an air of excitement as we waited in Read more
The country’s newest political party Coalition New Zealand has had some competition finding a domain name. Since Brian and Hannah Tamaki announced the party, Kiwis have been snapping up domain names left, right and centre. Kiwi comedian Tim Batt was one of those who swooped in, buying the www.coalitionparty.co.nz page. Read more
More than 70 Church of Scotland delegates – including the outgoing moderator the Very Rev Susan Brown – have formally lodged their frustration at the decision of its general assembly not to divest from fossil fuels, with advocates describing Wednesday’s vote as “an embarrassing abdication of moral leadership”. Although the general assembly voted to “recognise Read more
Former Dunedin priest Magnus (Max) Murray has been removed from the priesthood following a formal church judicial process. While some have welcomed the laicisation, others say it’s too little and too late. Read more
Canon lawyer Professor Thomas Schüller of Münster University, one of Germany’s best-known canon law experts, has sharply criticised the acquittal of Vatican official Fr Hermann Geissler (FSO), an Austrian priest and a former section head at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He called the acquittal a “scandalous verdict” as it had been Read more
While other churches are closing down and amalgamating, Holy Cross Parish in Henderson has embarked on a $4.1 million project to rebuild and expand its church to accommodate more parishioners. The massive project started this year with the original Milan Mrkusich mosaic art depicting the Stations of the Cross being carefully extracted from the walls. Read more
Justin Welby has become the first Archbishop of Canterbury to interview a pope in a symbol of the warm relationship shared by the two Church leaders. In a significant moment for relations between the Anglican and Catholic Church, the interview was recorded on the Archbishop’s mobile phone during a recent meeting in Rome. The recording Read more