The baptism barrier will be removed from the admission criteria to Irish Catholic schools according to plans announced by Ireland’s Minister for Education. Minority faiths like the Church of Ireland will be able to continue to select students on the basis of religion, however. Read more
ACT’s euthanasia bill is dangerous a Welsh professor of palliative medicine and cross-bench member of the House of Lords says. Ilora Finlay has arrived in New Zealand to challenge David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill. Finlay said that going by what had happened in Oregon and Belgium, the legalisation of assisted suicide in New Read more
The Vatican Museum has released a documentary about Pope Francis’s idea of art. The documentary “My idea of art” explores the Pope’s concept of art through 11 celebrated works. Read more
While the promise of a hearty breakfast for unbeatable value is enough to tempt anyone’s taste buds, the volunteer-driven Community Café at the Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary’s also serves up morning meals made with love. Everyone is invited to dine at the Café from 7.30 to 10am every Tuesday for a suggested one dollar donation Read more
ISIS militants desecrated another Catholic church last week in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao. The church is in the village of Malagakit. The crucifix and images of Our Lady and Christ were destroyed while consecrated hosts were thrown on the floor. Read more
A devoted church group with a fondness for four-wheel-driving is delivering donations to families still isolated by the 7.8-magnitude Kaikoura earthquake. The intrepid group from Blenheim’s Elim Church meet regularly to go out in their trucks to places out of reach to more conventional vehicles. The kind-hearted crew have decided to combine the best of both Read more
A priest’s creative way of reaching youth “went viral” at a music festival over the weekend. Wanting to attract young people, US priest Fr. David Jenuwine went to a three-day music festival with roughly 30,000 people at it. He set up a sign saying: Catholic priest. Blessings, Prayers, Confessions, Answers. He also offered rosaries, prayer cards Read more
Ministers have disputed New Zealand’s shameful ranking near the bottom of a recently released child welfare report. The Unicef – Innocenti study ranked New Zealand 34th out of 41 OECD countries. A core reason for this was our adolescent suicide rates, the highest in the world, and high rates of teen pregnancy, baby mortality and Read more
Many of us are underfed or overfed. A study on chronic undernourishment and obesity shows we live in a world of extremes. Of a world population of 7.5 billion, the proportions of those suffering from chronic undernourishment or afflicted by obesity are similar. They account for about 11 percent of all people. New Zealand’s up Read more
The prospect of retail tills ringing on Easter Sunday has Hamiltonians arguing the relative merits of convenience, commercialism, and Christianity. Hamilton City Council’s suggestion was for retailers to choose whether to open while employees would be able to turn down the work. But of 225 submitters, 71 per cent said no to the idea. Many Read more