The Vatican has brought nine more Syrian refugees to Rome. This adds to the 12 who accompanied Pope Francis when he returned from the Greek island of Lesbos in April. The nine refugees, like the twelve who preceded them, were living in a refugee camp on Lesbos. The Sant’Egidio community in Rome has agreed to Read more
Seventh-day Adventist congregations across New Zealand have gathered to watch the debut of the local affiliate of church-owned Hope Channel on free-to-air television. Hope Channel New Zealand, as it is known, had been broadcasting via satellite on Freeview Satellite since September 2015. As of April 30, its broadcast was extended to the free-to-air platform. “This Read more
A born-again Christian defending his bamboo canings says his faith taught him to hit his children’s bottoms when they misbehaved. The South Canterbury man, whose name is suppressed, faces charges of assault with a weapon. He says his hyperactive son needed the punishments. Continue reading
More than 50 homeless families have stayed at Te Puea Marae in south Auckland since it opened its doors last week The Marae is now asking what other groups – including churches – can do to help. Social worker Olive Hunkin, from the All Nations Aotearoa church, has seen the affect of poverty and homelessness Read more
Pope Francis has refused a donation from Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri, noting that the amount included the number 666. President Macri had sent 16,666,000 Argentine pesos for Scholas Occurentes, an educational charity the Pope supports. In a note to the charity’s office, the Pontiff said “I don’t like the 666”. The number is associated with Read more
The last surviving Catholic priest imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp has died at the age of 102. Fr Hermann Scheipers, who died on June 2 in Ochtrup, Germany, lived for more than 70 years after surviving a Nazi death march. He spent more than four years at Dachau after being arrested in 1940, reportedly Read more
A working group involving the Vatican and Italian dioceses has been set up to interpret Pope Francis’s reform of the marriage annulment process. As part of the reform, Pope Francis repealed aspects of a motu proprio from Pope Pius XI that set up regional tribunals in Italy. In the wake of Francis’s reforms, the Roman Read more
Another former altar boy, Roland Paul L. Sondia, came forward Wednesday morning to publicly accuse Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron of sexual abuse. Sondia, 54, said Apuron sexually abused him when he was a 15-year-old altar boy during a sleepover at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church rectory in Agat where Apuron was parish priest Read more
Prime Minister John Key says the United States should be asking itself tough questions about gun control after the Orlando shootings rather than leaping into anti-Muslim rhetoric. Mr Key said he hoped anti-Muslim comments such as those by presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump would not escalate the situation. “This is the time for the Read more
After 40 years in education Garin College deputy principal Denis Moriarty said his goodbyes to his students last week. Moriarty was part of Garin College from the start in 2002, after a 19-year long stint at Nelson College. In addition to being the deputy principal, he also taught geography. He said working with teenagers made Read more