Churches in Papua New Guinea’s autonomous region of Bougainville marked Easter with a major reconciliation and unification ceremony in Arawa. The Post Courier reports that church leaders acknowledged that after arriving in the region a hundred years ago, different denominations had created division among the people. This disunity continued on through the crisis years of Read more
Religion and overt expressions of it have crept into Rugby in New Zealand says Gregor Paul. It is common now, almost a show in itself for players to have wrist bands covered in religious iconography. The cross, albeit badly drawn with marker pen, is worn across Super Rugby on any given weekend. Some players, when they Read more
Jesus’ message of peace should be used as a guide by politicians and ordinary people to avoid a repeat of Fiji’s past political violence, Catholic Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of Suva has urged in his Easter message. Easter was not only about the body of Jesus coming back to life, but also about the peace Read more
A secret Catholic seminary in a group of historic buildings in the Cairngorms is to be restored. Catholic priests were secretly trained at the seminary in the 1700’s. Scalan was a small, clandestine community set up in the 18th century in the Braes of Glenlivet at a time when the religion was illegal. The planning Read more
Old Saint Paul’s on Mulgrave St in Wellington closes for up to 10 months this Friday as work begins to physically tie together joints in wood joins that began to dislocate in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake and saw the wooden building become 15cm wider in places. Read more
For the first time in almost three centuries, the holy stairs Jesus is said to have climbed to receive his death sentence from Pontius Pilate are accessible to pilgrims in their original version. Since 1723, at the request of Pope Innocent XIII, the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairway) was covered by a wooden casing in order Read more
All Blacks star Sonny Bill Willaims sat down with British Muslim convert John Fontain in the wake of the March 15th mosque attacks. He spoke about what the religion means to him, how he has struggled with acceptance in society, the toll the Christchurch attack has taken on his family and how special it was Read more
A new book published by Canterbury University Press brings to life a crucial period in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand when European settlers were mixing with Maori people and gives a compelling insight into Māori customs, values and beliefs of the time from a French perspective. A French Marist priest, Father Antoine Garin was Read more
Canadian lay leader Ron Huntley arrived in Brisbane last week to speak with priests and Church leaders about how to go beyond the crisis in the Catholic Church and inspire an authentic renewal of faith. “If the way we do Church doesn’t lead to an encounter and a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ Read more
The rate of teenage pregnancy in New Zealand has halved in the past decade, the Ministry of Health has revealed. The Report on Maternity found that in 2017 the teenage birth rate was 15 per 1000 females. In 2008 it was 33 per 1000. Read more