Where the aisles once stood, people will now pray as the old Naenae New World supermarket is transformed into the largest Sikh temple in the lower North Island. The 980-square-metre building was bought in August last year from Foodstuffs, which ran the New World store until 2014. Wellington Sikh Society treasurer Kulbir Singh said location, location, location was behind the purchase of the Read more
Religious leaders around the world have condemned terrorism and expressed solidarity with France after the attack in Nice in which scores of people died. The religious voices included Christian figures such as Pope Francis and prominent Muslims including the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawqi Allam. A truck drove through crowds celebrating Bastille Day (July 14) in Nice. Pope Francis Read more
An arrangement is reportedly looming between the Vatican and China that would fall short of full diplomatic ties, but would address key issues. Reuters reported sources as saying a working group was set up in April to resolve the issue of who has authority to select and ordain bishops in China. The group is also Read more
A Swedish doctor has been accused of denying one of his patients antibiotics when he refused to join the Catholic Church. The doctor was forced to leave his job as a locum at a practice run by the local authority in southern Sweden, Region Skåne. Bosses at the GP surgery reported him after it emerged Read more
The Urlich family live in a piece of history 135 years in the making. They have spent the past decade converting what was St John’s Presbyterian Church in Cromwell into a home. Respect for the former users of the building and those who worked so hard to construct and maintain it underlines the sympathetic makeover. Continue Read more
A proposed memorial wall at one of the country’s oldest Catholic churches would remember those shut out of its cemetery. The St Patrick’s Church in Panmure is the official burial ground for clergy of the Auckland Catholic Diocese. Kathy Haughey has been a parishioner at the church since 1949 and says for decades parishioners have Read more
Pope Francis has chosen a Protestant theologian to edit an Argentine version of L’Osservatore Romano. Marcelo Figueroa is a personal friend of the Pope’s. Beginning in September, Mr Figueroa will edit an Argentine publication that combines material from the weekly Spanish-language edition of L’Osservatore Romano with local content. The publication is an attempt to ensure that the Pope’s Read more
An archbishop has attacked Venezuela’s president for preventing the Church and other institutions from relieving the nation’s severe food crisis. Archbishop Diego Padrón of Cumaná slammed President Nicolás Maduro’s lack of “moral authority”. “The interests of the government are not the interests of the country,” said Archbishop Padrón. The archbishop is head of Venezuela’s bishops’ conference. Read more
Pope Francis brushed aside security considerations to make an unscheduled visit to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. After the Pope had been to the dentist on Wednesday, he said he had the idea to visit the commission. A security officer told Pope the visit would be “very complicated”. Francis replied by calmly saying, “I Read more
In some of these cases it’s very sad to note that during the recent cyclone people left disabled people, old people, left behind. The younger ones just take off and the old and disabled are forgotten so they are traumatised as a result of that and some of them sustained injuries and they lost their Read more