At least 25 Catholic groups joined nongovernmental organizations in condemning the murder of Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres, calling for a change in U.S. policy toward assistance in the region. In an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the organizations demanded a proper investigation into a crime that has captured international attention Read more
The historic former St Joseph’s Convent in Grey Lynn in Auckland is for sale for the first time in 20 years. Brokers are marketing the building, opened in 1922 but in private ownership since 1996, as having “huge development potential”. It is currently being run as a boarding house for low income earners. Expressions of Read more
Pope Francis will visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in July. He will visit the former Nazi death camp in southern Poland on July 29, on the third day of his visit to the country. Two of his predecessors have also visited the camp, John Paul II – himself Polish – in 1979 and retired pope Read more
Jimmy Grant, 78, who may have died as long ago as January, was farewelled during a Sunday Mass at Wellington’s Catholic cathedral on March 13. His body was found at his Mulgrave St apartment, near Parliament, on March 2. When his body was found, police also found a newspaper, a Bible and Mr Grant’s cat’s Read more
The Vatican will appoint Archbishop Christophe Pierre to be the new ambassador to the United States, replacing an ambassador whose tenure has sparked controversy, reports say. The Jesuit news organization America and longtime Vatican reporter Sandro Magister said Thursday that they expect Pierre will be appointed the Apostolic Nuncio, though the Holy See has not Read more
Dwindling numbers at Blenheim’s only Catholic school is the result of parents having more high-quality schools to choose from, its principal says. Numbers at St Mary’s School have dropped by more than half in the past 11 years, from nearly 400 to 175 pupils. Continue reading
(UCAN) A top Vatican official challenged Filipino Catholic educators and theologians to practice what they preach and become “credible witnesses” to church teachings. “We need witnesses,” said Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, at the Ateneo de Manila University on March 10. He said four Missionaries of Charity nuns who Read more
The Ministry of Health is to fund a programme at De La Salle College in Mangere aimed at growing the number of Maori and Pacific health workers. Health Science Academies, supported by the Counties Manukau DHB, have been operating for several years at some other south Auckland secondary schools. The goal is to develop a Read more
The Vatican on Wednesday said there is “a lack of political will on the part of the different institutions of the international community” to address attacks on the right of religious freedom. The comments were made during a United Nations Human Rights Council discussion on the Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion Read more
Australia spent £29 million on a deal with Cambodia to accept its refugees but the scheme has been labelled an “expensive joke” after just two people took up the offer to relocate. The four-year deal, signed in 2014, was designed to resettle hundreds of refugees who have been transferred by Australia to the tiny Pacific Read more