The Vatican has distanced itself from a BBC documentary expected to examine the relationship between St John Paul II and a married woman. The Secret Letters of Pope John Paul II was due to be aired on Monday on the BBC’s Panorama programme. Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, a Polish-born American philosopher, worked on a translation of one Read more
A new book will contain Pope Francis’s answers to challenging questions posed to him by children and young people. The book, to be published on March 1 by Loyola Press, is titled “Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World”. It will feature 30 letters and drawings from children aged 6-13 Read more
On Sundays Pastor Matawalu Waqanituinayau, known as Mata, runs services at the Assemblies of God church but when he’s not preaching he’s following his other passion – rugby. The Matamata pastor, who has been in New Zealand for 18 years, is also acting as a player agent, a position that has attracted controversy recently because Read more
A Tongan teenage woman Alo-Bridget Namoa, the wife of a western Sydney man charged with terror-related offences, has been arrested. The 18-year old married Sameh Bayda in December after converting from Christianity to Islam. Namoa, from Guildford in Sydney’s west, appeared at Parramatta Local Court via videolink on Saturday facing 31 charges of refusing to Read more
Celebrity biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins has suffered a minor stroke which has forced him to cancel his forthcoming trip to New Zealand. Following the news of Dawkins’ minor stroke the Church of England tweeted “Prayers for Prof Dawkins and his family,” causing a worldwide collective cringe. Continue reading Twitter users are now debating whether Read more
Pope Francis’s council of nine cardinals has formally presented the Pontiff with their final proposals to set up two major new offices in the Roman Curia. The two new Vatican offices proposed are “Laity, Family and Life” and “Justice, Peace and Migration”. Pope Francis will make the final decision on these proposals. The cardinals are Read more
A Catholic service has been celebrated in the Chapel Royal in Hampton Court Palace in London for the first time in 450 years. Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster hosted the service of Vespers, largely conducted in Latin and attended by 300 people. The service featured choral music from the 15th and 16th centuries. The cardinal Read more
Georgia is planning a “blasphemy bill” that will make religious irreverence severely punishable by law. A proposed bill would impose a 100 lari fine (US$120) for “insults to religious feelings”, which would double for a repeat offence. Desecrating a religious symbol could cost up to 1000 lari. The average monthly salary is Georgia is no Read more
Proposed law changes to allow councils to determine whether shops can trade on Easter Sunday are unnecessarily complicated, Local Government New Zealand says. The bill, which is being considered by Parliament’s commerce committee, would allow councils to pass a by-law to allow shops to open. But Local Government president Lawrence Yule said by-laws were time Read more