Jesuit peace activist Daniel Berrigan, who was imprisoned after burning draft files in an anti-war protest in the 1960s, has died aged 94. Fr Berrigan died peacefully on April 30 at Murray-Weigel Hall in New York City, after a long illness. Fr Berrigan and his younger brother, Fr Philip Berrigan, emerged as leaders of the Read more
A group of Perth church leaders who staged a sit-in in a cabinet minister’s office to protest treatment of refugee children have avoided jail. The group refused to leave Australian justice minister Michael Keenan’s office on February 20. At the Perth Magistrates Court last week, the protestors were given “spent” convictions for trespassing and were Read more
An order of nuns says a court ruling allowing singer Katy Perry to buy a Los Angeles convent was based on a mistranslated Vatican decree. The nuns, from the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary order, argued that Perry’s lawyers misled a judge using the document, which had been incorrectly translated from Latin. The Read more
A Manawatu boarding school has been told it should be paying its staff, no matter if they are asleep or awake. Hato Paora Trust Board, the group which runs Hato Paora College, has been told by the Employment Relations Authority it did not legally pay at least minimum wage to nine current and former employees Read more
Another deadline for progress on a significant building within central Christchurch has been missed, with both the government and the Anglican Church saying there is no news on what will happen with the Christ Church Cathedral. At the joint announcement the church said it expected to announce the findings of the working party by the Read more
David Crosbie (50), a member of the In The Name of the Lord motorcycle ministry, said he was set to spread the good word to Black Sabbath fans in Dunedin tomorrow. The Dunedin-based ministry has five members – four in Dunedin and one in Gisborne – a mix of men and women. Before the concert Read more
Two Spanish nuns reportedly submitted virginity tests in a bid to clear a former Catholic priest who was accused of sexual abuse. Feliciano Miguel Rosendo was arrested in December, 2014 over allegations he forced sisters to take part in orgies and boasted that his semen “contained the body of Christ”. Rosendo led the Mandate and Read more
The head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has said that a papal encyclical addressing the question of just war theory is possible. Cardinal Peter Turkson said proposals to drop the concept of just war were “legitimate”. He called for a “broad and deeply felt” debate on the question of just war theory. Read more
Catholic and Anglican theologians have been meeting near Rome to discuss ordination rites in the two communions. The members of the Malines Conversation group also considered the ecumenical implications of Pope Francis’s recent document Amoris Laetitia. A communique issued after the encounter said the theologians from seven different countries discussed “contemporary and historic ordination rites”. Read more
Welcome to the new competitive funeral market. Fresh Funerals home page offers “self-select funerals delivered wherever you need them.” “We walk you through the whole funeral process, so you can decide what you’ll do to save costs and what you’d like your funeral director to do for you,” says Jude Mannion. There’s also a checklist, Read more