Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to Pope Francis last week went off as smoothly as such visits tend to. The vexing question for the Royals, however, was what to give His Holiness. They settled on a hamper of homegrown produce from Prince Charles’s estate. Francis gave Charles and Camilla an olive branch. Read more
Anti-Semitism is increasing in New Zealand and those responsible need to better understand the implications of their actions, a Jewish leader says. New Zealand Jewish Council president Stephen Goodman said hate speech towards Jews was particularly prevalent on social media. “A lot of anti-Semitism comes out of ignorance and thinking this is a fashionable thing to do,” Read more
Martin Luther King’s dream of “integral human development” of all peoples is a work that must continue today. It must continue in the world and in the Catholic Church, a US bishop, Edward K. Braxton, told participants at a Vatican conference. ” The racial divide in the United States and, sadly, in the Catholic Church Read more
The Human Rights Commission says it does not want a change to hate speech laws – as high-profile New Zealanders warn freedom of speech is under threat in the country’s universities. Human Rights Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy this year called for politicians and others to address hate speech, saying “we need people at the very Read more
A Mexican priest was shot and killed on Monday. Then on Tuesday, Fr Oscar Lopez Navarro, from the Mexican Tampico diocese was kidnapped. He has since been released, apparently in exchange for a ransom. Read more
The Catholic Church in Fiji has in place a policy on misconduct and sexual abuse, says Roman Catholic Church Archbishop of Suva Peter Loy Chong. He stated this during an interview by this newspaper after being questioned on few cases where Catholic priests were reported to have molested women in the past. Continue reading
Tearfund NZ has been blocked from sending aid to India. It is one of 11,000 aid groups who rae no longer allowed to send aid there. The Indian Government says it is “not in its national interest to receive funding from such aid groups”. The Tearfund is a Christian charity. It supports about 145,000 children. Read more
A “Satanic” campaign to buy warm clothes for disadvantaged people has been blessed by an Auckland reverend, while drawing the ire of Family First. Satanic New Zealand has launched a “Soles for Satan” Givealittle page to “buy new socks, hats, and warm clothing for homeless shelters and children living in poverty”. Co-founder Frankie Astro Seven Read more
The Vatican has published a letter the Pope wrote to the UN last week about banning nuclear weapons. In this he urged the UN to “commit … to a world without nuclear weapons”. Read more
A 64-year-old man who grew cannabis for pain relief and supplied his friends has donated $5000 to the Salvation Army as part of his penalty. Arthur Leslie Richardson brought a bank cheque made out to the church when he arrived for sentencing at Hawera District Court, after earlier pleading guilty to cultivating cannabis, possession of Read more