The olive leaf is a symbol of reconciliation, but a planned building inspired by its shape has divided opinion in the historic gold-mining town of Arrowtown. Queenstown architect Fred van Brandenburg first mooted the Olive Leaf – a multi-use parish centre situated beside the heritage-listed St Patrick’s Catholic Church – in 2015. It has the Read more
Catholic groups meeting in Canberra last Friday have demanded a change Catholic Church leadership. They say the current leaders are “locked in a misogynistic and unaccountable culture” that has failed to adequately respond to the child sexual abuse scandal and is denying the need for urgent reform. Read more
A refugee-themed mufti day for students to “experience a little of what it feels like to be poor” has disappointed some, who called the idea “insensitive” and in “bad taste”. Christchurch’s Middleton Grange School, in Upper Riccarton, asked children to wear “old ragged clothes” to a mufti day on Thursday to raise money for World Vision. Read more
The new Chief of Protocol of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State is Msgr. Joseph Murphy. Murphy, who is 49, succeeds Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt. Read more
An official letter that girls’ rugby and boxing went against Tongan women’s dignity and culture did not represent official government policy says Prime Minister Akilisi Pōhiva. Continue reading
A Brazilian bishop and four priests have been arrested for diverting donations and party funds worth about $600,000. The bishop and priests were part of a group that is alleged to have stolen funds to pay for personal expenses and to buy a cattle farm. Read more
There has been outrage among Tongans over an official letter purporting to ban girls at the country’s state school from playing rugby and boxing. The letter from the Ministry of Education informed staff at Tonga High School that the girls shouldn’t be playing such sports because it goes against young women’s dignity and Tongan culture Read more
Cardinal George Pell could face new criminal charges. His committal hearing in Melbourne was told on Tuesday that a witness had unexpectedly provided a new statement to police on Monday evening. Read more
Christchurch is to be the venue for the fourth national assembly of diocesan priests later this year. These assemblies, an initiative of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, happen every five years. The three previous national assemblies were in Blenheim (twice) and in Rotorua. Continue reading
The rights of medical professionals’ conscientious objection to participating in medical procedures to which their beliefs are opposed are being clarified in the British Parliament. The Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Act 2017 would defend healthcare workers in England and Wales from partaking in the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, IVF or similar fertility treatments, or abortion Read more