News Shorts

NZ’s hypocrisy on family reunifications

Thursday, July 5th, 2018

Peter Dunne argues New Zealanders angry about Trump’s family separations policy should look instead at our own racist policy on family reunifications. Continue reading

Sudan’s Catholic leaders hopeful of lasting ceasefire

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Sudan’s Catholic leaders are hopeful the country’s almost five-year civil war is at an end. A ceasefire has been declared by South Sudan officials and rebel leaders. While Bishop Barani Hiiboro, president of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishop’s Conference, welcomed the ceasefire he says: “if it is to mean anything for the suffering Read more

Myanmar threat to Christian leaders over rebels

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

The commander in chief of the Burmese troops of the north has ordered Christian religious leaders to stop communications with the rebels of the Kachin Independence Army or risk penal consequences. Read more

Spanish Church speaks against exhuming Franco’s remains

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Spanish church leaders have advised the government not to carry out plans to exhume General Francisco Franco’s remains, without obtaining agreement from interested parties. “We want a solution which helps build a peaceful country,” said Rodrigo Pinedo Texidor, archdiocesan communications director. Read more

Hong Kong Protestant leaders accused of sexual harassment

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

More than half of alleged sexual offenders identified in a survey of Hong Kong Protestant churches were leaders or pastoral staff. Read more

German leader: migrants must be turned back at border

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

One of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies is alleged to have rejected a deal she made last week in Brussels to slash migration. The deal Merkel made with other European Union leaders shares out refugees on a voluntary basis and creates “controlled centres” inside the bloc to process asylum requests. Read more

Plea not to delay Bougainville referendum

Monday, July 2nd, 2018

June 15 next year had been tentatively set for the referendum on possible independence from Papua New Guinea, but in recent weeks there have been suggestions that the region is not ready and may need to delay it. Source: Radio NZ

Priest suspended: rap music is not allowed in preaching

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

Rap music is not allowed to be used as a way of delivering sermons. Doing so led to a Kenyan priest being suspended. The priest – Father Ogalo – who says he was using rap music to deliver his sermons to “bring the youth closer to the church,” has landed him in hot water with Read more

32 Stunning photos of Rohingya refugees in the fishing industry

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

In March, Clodagh Kilcoyne, a Reuters photographer, spent time in the Shamlapur refugee camp in Bangladesh, home to approximately 10,000 of the 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled the violence in neighbouring Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Unable to legally work in Bangladesh, refugees support themselves with help from charitable organizations, extended family, and informal jobs such as Read more

Four new cardinal bishops announced

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

Pope Francis has signed a rescript adding four more members to the group of cardinal bishops in the College of Cardinals. They are: Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 63, Vatican secretary of state; Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 74, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches; Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 74, prefect of the Congregation for Italian Read more