News Shorts

Microsoft ‘s president meets pope about AI ethics

Thursday, February 14th, 2019

Microsoft’s President Brad Smith met Pope Francis on Wednesday to discuss the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI). He also discussed ways to bridge the digital divide between rich and poor nations. Read more

Our Stories on a Plate brings women of all cultural backgrounds together.

Thursday, February 14th, 2019

Sikka is a teacher at Henderson Primary School but spreads herself across the community as a volunteer, mentoring high school girls and teaching yoga classes to refugee women on Fridays. In between, she’s organising workshops to empower refugee and migrant women as the founder of Our Stories on Plate, an initiative to address the realities of Read more

Feast day for St Paul VI announced

Monday, February 11th, 2019

Pope Francis has given his blessing for the feast day for St. Paul VI has been added to the universal calendar. His feast day will be on the anniversary of his ordination – 29 May. St. Paul VI was pope from 1963 to 1978. Read more

Timaru a supportive place for refugees, church leader says

Monday, February 11th, 2019

The leader of a church which helped a family settle in Timaru after they fled their war-torn home is not surprised the town has been chosen as a new refugee settlement location. Continue reading

First Catholic church since Cuban revolution opens

Monday, February 11th, 2019

The first Catholic church built since the 1959 Cuban revolution opened on Saturday. “To see this finished is like coming out of the night into the day,” Fr. Cirilo Castro, the Cuban priest who oversaw construction of the church says. “We knew it would happen one day.” Read more

Homegrown solution for personal pronoun to use for God

Monday, February 11th, 2019

God or Godde? He or she? Does it matter, so long as people are comfortable with whatever they decide? For those to whom God is an important concept, is there anything important at stake in the pronoun that refers to God? Fortunately, New Zealanders of all people have a solution right under their noses. In Read more

Former police chief asks for forgiveness

Monday, February 11th, 2019

The former national police chief who began the Philippine government’s war on drugs has asked a Catholic archbishop for forgiveness for the thousands of deaths that occurred during his watch. Human rights groups claim more than 20,000 suspected drug users and dealers have been killed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s two-and-a-half year drug war. Read more

PM shows support for Rapid Relief team

Monday, February 11th, 2019

New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has shown her support for the Rapid Relief Team, who have been feeding hundreds of emergency services personnel and Defence staff battling forest fires in the Nelson-Tasman region. The RRT, an initiative of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, is staffed by Church volunteers who provide catering services during a Read more

Pushpay app helping churches and communities

Thursday, December 13th, 2018

Pushpay is a New Zealand company that started by offering an electronic payment mechanism, allowing people to charge their “giving” to a credit or debit card so they could give money at the touch of a button. Established seven years ago, Pushpay is now one of the world’s fastest-growing SAS (software-as-a-service) companies. It has gone Read more

Landmines cleared: site of Christ’s baptism reopening

Thursday, December 13th, 2018

Thousands of landmines have been cleared from the banks of the river Jordan. Besides being the place of Christ’s baptism, the site is widely held to be the location where the Israelites crossed the river Jordan following the 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. It is also believed to be the Read more