Parishioners subdued a teenager with a gun who entered a Louisiana church during a service for dozens of young children, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Officials in the Catholic diocese are weighing new safety protocols, including the possibility of someone carrying a firearm at services, after Saturday’s confrontation at St Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville, a Read more
Pope Francis encouraged priests to seek out those who are “invisible” in society and he warned against “ideologies” in the church. According to Italian news reports, one of the ideologies he specified was a gay culture, referring to it, however, by using the same derogatory slang term in Italian that he reportedly used in a Read more
A city in Spain is starting to use its cemeteries to generate renewable power. On the east coast, Valencia aims to install thousands of solar panels in graveyards around the city. The project has been dubbed RIP – standing for Requiem in Power – and was launched this month with the first photovoltaic panels installed. Read more
Recognising that the Christian churches continually are called to grapple with new moral issues and that reaching different conclusions can complicate the search for Christian unity, a commission of Catholic and Anglican bishops and theologians has been studying how their traditions make decisions and what they can learn from each other. According to a statement Read more
A “devastated” Riccarton church community is appealing to the public for help after sacred objects worth more than $20,000 were stolen. The incident occurred about 11.30pm on Sunday, June 2, at St Teresa’s Church in Riccarton. Police said the intruders entered the sacristy and presbytery and stole tabernacles and chalices, along with a small amount Read more
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on June 4 dramatically limiting the number of immigrants who may apply for asylum at the southern United States border. Starting Wednesday, the policy pauses entry at the border once 2,500 illegal entries have occurred in any 24-hour period. The executive order follows two failed attempts in Congress Read more
After two days of occupying the apostolic nunciature in Bogotá, Colombia, protestors agreed to leave. They were protesting the violence of paramilitary groups against community leaders and Indigenous peoples and will now hold a meeting with the government about potential solutions. About 15 activists entered the area on Jun 4 during a march that had Read more
Pope Francis condemned the recent killing of 14 Catholics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who reportedly were killed after they refused to convert to Islam. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that the 14 Catholics, several of them very young, were killed in North Kivu by members of the ISIS-affiliated militia called Read more
King’s High School pupils lead a haka in memory of Enere McLaren-Taana at a funeral held at First Church yesterday. The 16-year-old Trinity Catholic College and former King’s High School pupil died after being stabbed at Dunedin’s bus hub last month. About 80 vehicles lined the grass outside First Church as mourners left the service Read more