News Shorts

Manila refuses to extend Australian nun’s visa

Thursday, October 11th, 2018

The Philippines’ Immigration Bureau says Sister Patricia Fox failed to raise new arguments to support her appeal for an extension to extend her missionary visa. Continue reading

Youth warned against populist ideologies

Thursday, October 11th, 2018

Pope Francis warned youth attending the synod in Rome not to be taken in by populist ideologies that exclude others. Populisms that make us see the other, the foreigner, as evil, as an enemy to be pushed away are to be avoided he said. “Today populisms are fashionable, which have nothing to do with the Read more

Euthanasia bill: $75,000 to find 700 lost submissions

Thursday, October 11th, 2018

A bug in an IT system used to count submissions to the controversial euthanasia bill ended up costing $75,000 to find 700 missing forms. Continue reading

Latter-day Saints Church cuts Sunday service by an hour

Thursday, October 11th, 2018

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will reduce the time spent on Sunday meetings from three to two hours. From January, the church’s Sunday meeting schedule will consist of a 60-minute sacrament meeting and a 50-minute class alternating each Sunday between Sunday School, Priesthood quorums, Relief Society and youth meetings. Read more

“Alarm bells should be ringing in the corridors of power”

Thursday, October 11th, 2018

Responding to the release of the latest Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), leaders of Catholic development agencies around the world have launched an urgent call for action, as there isn’t much time available to tackle the crisis without running into terrible consequences. Clearly, there is Read more

Media’s not responsible for church abuse scandal damage

Monday, October 8th, 2018

The media’s not responsible for the damage the abuse scandal has caused the church. Church leadership is responsible for this, says German Cardinal Reinhard Marx. Speaking at a news conference, Marx said the Church needs “more open and clear dialogue, accountability and a willingness to see abuse survivors and critics who push for remedy and Read more

2 Wairarapa earthquake prone churches closed

Monday, October 8th, 2018

Two Wairarapa Catholic churches have closed abruptly after being deemed earthquake-prone for some time. The decision to shut St Mary’s church in Carterton and St Anthony’s church in Martinborough was made by the Catholic Parish of Wairarapa’s finance committee and pastoral team last week. It is understood the decision was based on keeping parishioners safe. Read more

Women’s care center an exemplar of the culture of life

Monday, October 8th, 2018

A US Women’s Care Center embodies the unconditional love and radical hospitality that anchors and sustains a culture of life. The director of the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics and Culture’s comments were made when presenting the Evangelium Vitae Medal to the Indiana Women’s Care Centre. The Evangelium Vitae medal is the Center Read more

Billions owed in child support penalties

Monday, October 8th, 2018

New Zealanders owe billions in child support debt, with some individual parents owing more than $1 million. But most of the debt is late payment penalties, leading some to question whether the system is hurting the people it is designed to help. Continue reading

Looming scandal over nuns’ multimillion-dollar loan

Monday, October 8th, 2018

A looming scandal within a Sydney Maronite Catholic school is emerging as government-appointed auditors examine decades of payments to nuns and a multi million-dollar loan. Several sources associated with the school claim school funds may have been improperly used to subsidise the attached convent and the living expenses of nuns.Read more