News Shorts

Cardinal rules: no one may demand a pope’s resignation

Monday, December 3rd, 2018

No one has the right to demand a pope’s resignation or launch a formal accusation against a pope, German Cardinal Gerhard Muller says. Public attacks put into question the church’s credibility, he says. Read more

Māori karakia features in Korean pop song

Monday, December 3rd, 2018

A popular South Korean boy band is causing controversy by using a Māori karakia at the start of its new pop song. The te reo Māori words, “Tūturu o whiti whakamaua kia tina” feature at the beginning of the track Simon Says by NCT 127. Researcher Aroha Mead, an advocate for Māori intellectual property, said Read more

Japanese museum finds early Christian scroll

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

A Japanese museum has found a scroll written by the country’s early Christians. According to “The Mainichi” newspaper, an inscription on the scroll reads “1592 years since His Birth,”. This has suggested to historians that this was the year the scroll was created. Carbon dating has dated the scroll as having been created prior to Read more

Rising abortion rate for Auckland millennials could be due to high cost of living

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

The high cost of living in Auckland could be a factor in the rising abortion rate for millennials, the abortion supervisory committee head says. An annual report by the committee has shown the rates of abortion are increasing for Aucklanders aged between 25 and 35 years old for the first time in 12 years. Continue reading

World Youth Day 2019: pope’s itinerary published

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

The pope’s itinerary for World Youth Day 2019 has been published. Among his various engagements, he will visit young people not able to attend the festivities: some in jail and with some living with HIV. Pope Francis will also dedicate the altar of Panama’s newly renovated 400-year-old cathedral, meet with bishops from Central America and Read more

Auckland mayor proposes $5 million for City Mission’s new building

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

Mayor Phil Goff wants to pump an extra $5 million into the Auckland City Mission, to help with the construction costs of its new building on Hobson St. That building, to be called HomeGround, will contain accommodation, health services and community facilities. Demolition of the old City Mission buildings has already begun. Continue reading

Church members jailed after singing Amazing Grace

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

Church members of the CityWell United Methodist Church and others from the US state of North Carolina community sought to physically block the arrest of an immigrant, Oliver-Bruno. They surrounded a government van and refused to move, singing Amazing Grace and chanting, “Let your people go!” Read more

Old St Paul’s in Wellington to close for seismic upgrade

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

Old St Paul’s, the site of many historic events in Wellington, will close its doors next year for seismic strengthening. On Thursday, Heritage New Zealand confirmed the category 1 historic place will close between May and October 2019 in order to carry out the work. Continue reading

American killed on Indian island was not a missionary

Monday, November 26th, 2018

Indian police and church officials say the American killed on an isolated island was trying to convert tribal people to Christianity. John Allen Chau’s body was found last week on a beach of North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal with arrow wounds. Dependra Pathak, director general of police of the Andaman and Nicobar Read more

Research: need for spirituality to be integrated into health system

Monday, November 26th, 2018

Spiritual care must be integrated into health system care plans, policies and training in order to reflect national guidelines and strategies more effectively, according to University of Otago researchers. In interviews with 24 cancer survivors, their whanau and health workers, the researchers found participants felt as if documentation of their spiritual beliefs had the potential Read more