The first Anglican female bishop to sit in the House of Lords doesn’t like being officially referred to as “right reverend mother”. An initial version of Bishop Rachel Treweek’s writ of summons to be read aloud to the House of Lords referred to her as “right reverend father in God”. Bishop Treweek, from Gloucester, sent Read more
One of the world’s leading travel websites has put Hawke’s Bay in its top 10 for possessing what it calls one of New Zealand’s finest restaurants – which went down very well at Mission Restaurant in Greenmeadows, which got the nod for the list. The annual Travellers’ Choice Awards staged by the US-based site, Trip Read more
The Anglican and Methodist churches are in talks which could bring closer ties. The two were working on equal recognition of each other’s ordained clergy and had discussed their relationship at an annual meeting between the two churches, in Auckland in September. John Wesley founded Methodism, with parishioners from the Anglican church, in the 18th Read more
A new DNA study has added to the mystery surrounding the Shroud of Turin – which some believe to be the burial cloth of Jesus. By sequencing genes from pollen and dust particles on the shroud, Italian researchers have been able to map the type of plants and people that came into contact with the Read more
A former official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who declared he is gay and has a partner has been suspended from priestly ministry. Msgr Krzysztof Charamsa lost his job at the CDF after he made a public statement about his situation and he also criticised the Church for its approach to Read more
A cash-strapped parish in Italy has asked parishioners to put scratch and win lottery cards on the offertory plate rather than money. A flyer on a door of San Martino church in Cigola near Brescia announced the move. “We all know we need help,” read the flyer. “So with a smile and without making givers Read more
Plans for a new Catholic school in Hamilton have been declined despite a waiting list of hundreds of children. The Hamilton Diocese sought Ministry of Education permission for a new state-integrated primary school on a 3 hectare block the church owns between Resolution Dr and Borman Rd, Rototuna, Hamilton. The diocese would provide the land Read more
The Mt Roskill cross is set to return to Puketapapa. Following a successful application by a group of Mt Roskill church ministers, backed by the Puketapapa Local Board, the cross will make its comeback for Christmas and Easter. It is lit up in the form of a cross at Christmas time and a star at Easter. Read more
Patrons of the Auckland City Mission are bringing an original script to the stage. Op Shop Dreams is a play about the ways in which people dream of a life different to their own. It’s being performed by The Hobson Street Theatre Company, a City Mission initiative which gives people, including the homeless, opportunities to Read more
Journalist John L. Allen, Jr., has apologised to South African Cardinal Wilfred Napier after the latter was misquoted in a Crux story. The story included a quote by Cardinal Napier seemingly challenging the right of Pope Francis to appoint members of a commission to draft the synod on the family’s final document. But after Cardinal Read more