Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns multimillion-dollar estate will be used to help victims of abuse, the Catholic diocese has said. Mulkearns, who died in April, was blamed for allowing paedophile priests to continue to operate in Victoria. The late bishop left a reported $2.1m to be used by the current bishop of Ballarat for the benefit Read more
The Dean of Auckland is to move to England to take up a senior role at the Anglican Church there. Jo Kelly-Moore’s new responsibilities as Archdeacon of Canterbury include Canterbury Cathedral, the spiritual home of the church. She said the appointment is an honour for the Church’s work in New Zealand. Continue reading
IVF treatment is now a possibility for a 60 year-old UK woman who has been cleared to use eggs harvested from her dead daughter to give birth to her own grandchild The 60-year-old has been cleared by health experts to take her daughter’s eggs to the US for IVF treatment. There she hopes to use Read more
The government tasked a working group want the Christchurch cathedral to retain its external appearance as much as possible. The chair of the group Geoff Dangerfield said they were investigating how to “repair, restore and, in some parts, rebuild” the cathedral and were being “careful to ensure the building retains its external appearance as much as possible”. Read more
Vice President Chen Chien-jen attended the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta on 4 September at the Vatican, describing the event as representing the universal values of peace, love, mercy and humanitarianism that the Republic of China (ROC) and Holy See share and put into practice. The Holy See is an important ally that has Read more
New Zealand’s sceptic community says Mother Teresa wasn’t all she was cracked up to be. The late Catholic nun and missionary has been declared a saint, which requires a candidate to perform at least two miracles during their lifetime. Mark Honeychurch from the NZ Skeptics Society says the two supposed miracles that led the way Read more
Ukrainian Christians are facing violence with a unified front. “To overcome conflicts, to fight hatred with goodness, and to make Ukraine a free and European country: these are the tasks of the Catholic Church in Ukraine”, according to a priest with knowledge of the situation. Christians in Ukraine are facing a difficult experience. Despite the Read more
The 2016 Church Tour will bring four legendary New Zealand songwriters, recording artists, and performers together on stage. In a unique concert collaboration, Sharon O’Neill, Shona Laing, Debbie Harwood and Hammond Gamble will visit environs of some of the country’s most beautiful churches and cathedrals. While all four artists have worked with each other previously Read more
Atheist advertisements have led to thousands of people leaving the Church of Denmark. Between April and June, 10,000 people left the church – the highest number of registered withdrawals since 2007. A campaign by the Danish Atheist Society is being held responsible for the number of leavers – double that recorded between January and March. The campaign’s banner advert includes phrases Read more
The first Sikh to run for a place on Hamilton’s city council has had his billboard defaced with the name Isis in black paint. Yugraj Singh Mahil is pictured on the billboard with another candidate Anna Casey-Cox. Both are first time candidates in the city’s east ward, standing as part of the Community Voice group. Read more