Pope Francis’ commission on clergy abuse is considering whether to restructure itself so that it no longer includes the direct participation of abuse survivors. An option the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is considering involves the possibility of creating a separate advisory panel of individuals who have been abused by clergy. Read more
Referee Nigel Owens, who is in New Zealand to officiate the second Bledisloe Cup test in Dunedin, took to the turf at St Peter’s College in Auckland on Wednesday to officiate a friendly under-15’s match between St Peter’s College and a Japanese touring side. Owens has refereed many big rugby matches over the years, including the Rugby World Cup Read more
Church reformers are calling for a Year of the Laity, which would include conferences and observances around the world. They suggest the Year could run from this November until November 2018. Read more
Catholics belonging to over 27 dioceses in the United States can now connect with their parish anywhere through “myParish” app. The app gives them access to prayers, readings and reflections and enables them to stay up-to-date with Church events and notifications. Read more
Do not rebuild it or repair the Christ Church Cathedral – keep it as a precious ruin surrounded by reflective pool, an architectural practice suggests. Inspired by ideas overseas, Walker Community Architects proposed what they call a third way to deal with the earthquake-wrecked church. Continue reading
Over 10,000 demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans forced a small group of white supremacists to cut short a “free speech rally” at a park in Boston on Saturday. Reports from say the 25-strong group was jeered at when it was “escorted out” the park by police officers. Read more
St Patrick’s College, Silverstream have won their first WelTec Premiership title since 2012 with a come-from-behind win over Wellington College. St Pats Silverstream kept Wellington scoreless in the second half as they turned an 11-7 halftime deficit into a 17-11 win at Porirua Park on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading
A new oratorio is the latest honor commemorating 11 year-old Brigitte Irrgang, whom Saint Pope John Paul II named a martyr. “Brigitte. Musikalisches Leuchten” (Brigitte. Musical Beacon) premiered in Brigitte’s home town of Loitz in northeastern Germany last weekend. Since then, performances have been held in Greifswald and Berlin. Read more
The Kiwi-Indian community is incensed over Winston Peters’ latest dab in creating chasms between Sikhs and Hindus in New Zealand. Winston Peters has recently derided National’s promise to the Sikh community to amend the law for allowing Sikh Kirpan in New Zealand if re-elected to power after elections. Continue reading
Police will not be charging an Auckland pastor who said gay couples deserved a bullet in the head. A police spokesperson said on Thursday they had finished making inquiries into a video of Logan Robertson, pastor at Westcity Bible Church in Avondale, making “concerning comments” and would not be charging him with an offence. Continue reading Robertson Read more