Vatican Radio will take a minor role in future, says Vatican journalist Sandro Magister of L’Espresso. Other communication forms will step up to replace it. Social media will form a big part of the new news service. The Jesuit-managed mainly short-wave radio broadcasts are translated into many languages. The station runs at an annual deficit Read more
In this Year of Mercy Pope Francis has declared there is to be a Jubilee for Prisoners this weekend. To honour this Jubilee for Prisoners and to encourage ongoing prayer for those in prison, a revised Adopt a Cell Card is being produced to be distributed at the Masses on 6th November. The cards are Read more
A children’s book on the family has just been released. It is the latest book for children written by Pope Francis. “The Caress of God”, is aimed at children ages six to 10 years old. It summarizes 27 catecheses (religious education topics). Pope Francis delivered these between his two Synods on the family, in October Read more
A City Impact Church pastor who has made his first film about gang violence in New Zealand says it couldn’t have been made without “God’s favour”. The trailer for Broken, a tale of vengeance which claims to be “based on a true story”, debuted on Friday afternoon and quickly went viral, racking up 850,000 views Read more
A new Martin Scorsese movie about two Jesuit monks in 17th century Japan is due for release in December. Silence stars Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson as the Jesuit monks. In the movie, Garfield arrives in Japan to track down his mentor, Cristóvão Ferreira (Neeson). Ferreira has allegedly renounced his Jesuit beliefs. As they set out Read more
This month Cardinal John Dew, President of Bible Society New Zealand (BSNZ), will be praying for New Zealanders who have requested prayer at St Peter’s in the Vatican, Rome. And there’s still time for him to pray for you! Cardinal Dew will be attending the closing Mass for the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will Read more
Louisiana’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s law on reporting child abuse, which requires health workers, teachers, clergy and others to report evidence of child abuse to authorities, does not oblige priests to violate the sanctity of a sacramental confession. The ruling deals with a section of Louisiana’s Children’s Code requiring health workers, teachers, Read more
Green party Members of Parliament have declined to respond to any of the eight letters sent to them by Right to life. The correspondence was seeking information on important life issues and clarification of the Party’s policies on parental notification, euthanasia, the decriminalisation of abortion, the “Inside Out” sexuality education programme and the Party’s proposal Read more
A Catholic church in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was sold last week to a Muslims. The Immaculate Conception B.V.M. Catholic Church in Bristol Township, located 25 miles outside of Philadelphia, was purchased by the United American Muslim Society, based in Brooklyn, New York, for $1.775 million last Friday. The real estate transaction was announced during weekend Read more
The head of A US lobby group on abortion, Catholics for Choice, is scheduled to speak at a conference in New Zealand in November. A spokesperson for the New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops Conference, Simone Olsen, said of Catholics for Choice: “Clearly this group’s message is inconsistent with the Church’s teaching on family which seeks to protect the vulnerable and the voiceless including the unborn Read more