A Wellington nun’s vegetable garden has been bulldozed because it was no longer viable to keep it going. Sister Loyola Galvin, 96, and her garden captured the hearts of New Zealanders in a documentary Gardening with Soul. She tended to her garden at the Home of Compassion in Wellington for over 15 years, The garden Read more
France’s government has named a respected diplomat who is said to be gay as the country’s new ambassador to UNESCO, more than a year after he was nominated to become the ambassador to the Vatican — a job he never started, because the Vatican withheld its approval. Laurent Stefanini was confirmed Wednesday by France’s council Read more
A US woman who spoke at Auckland’s Eucharistic Convention this month has forgiven the ISIS killer who beheaded her son. Diane Foley, whose son James was executed in 2014, said she took no satisfaction from the killing by drone strike of her son’s killer, the man dubbed “Jihadi John”. “How can it give me joy Read more
The expanded use of an abortion-inducing drug in America will pave the way for the “destruction of even more innocent lives” say pro-life advocates. The new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines, announced on 30 March, allow women to use RU-486, known generically as mifepristone and by its brand name Mifeprex – later into their Read more
Politicians, cardinals, bishops and educationalists gathered in Wellington on April 3 to farewell Br Sir Patrick Lynch. Br Sir Patrick is leaving the New Zealand Catholic Education Office after 22 years at the helm. Speakers at the function included Education Minister Hekia Parata and Cardinal John Dew. Ms Parata praised Br Sir Patrick’s “immense contribution Read more
The Vatican Secretariat for Communications has established a new bureau, entitled DotCatholic, to manage the new top-level internet domain by the same name. In 2013, the Vatican sought and won exclusive control of internet addresses that end in “.catholic”. (This top-level domain includes the use of “.catholic” in English, Chinese, Arabic, and Russian.) The new Read more
It’s an unconventional rendering of Jesus that was rejected years ago by top officials with two major Catholic cathedrals, yet it now sits in one of the world’s holiest sites. Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz was thrilled to receive an email a few days ago telling him his bronze sculpture, Homeless Jesus, has been installed inside Read more
One of New Zealand’s most prolific TV producers, Ross Jennings, died a year after directing a Passion play in Auckland. Mr Jennings, 71, died on Good Friday after a battle with cancer. Last year he directed “They Crucified Him”, a Passion play which portrayed Jesus’ last days on Earth. It featured a largely Pacific Island Read more