A mob of abortion supporters tried to desecrate a Catholic cathedral in Argentina last week. Feminists approached the cathedral in Mar del Plata screaming “the Church is a piece of trash, you’re a dictatorship”. Stones and bottles were thrown at Catholics praying the Rosary in front of the cathedral. The activists, who were among tens Read more
Historic Church of England village churches could be closed down except on feasts like Christmas and Easter as a move to cope with dwindling congregations. A committee of senior CofE clerics and laity is recommending many village churches throughout England be designated as “festival” churches. This would be a new category of parish used only Read more
The Presbyterian Church’s Māori division has rounded on its General Assembly, accusing it of walking away from its partnership to fund and support Turakina Māori Girls’ College. The chair of Te Aka Puaho – the Maori Synod, Reverend Wayne Te Kaawa, said the General Assembly and Central Presbytery has left the Synod struggling alone to Read more
An Auckland Maori school, Hato Petera, has made the “painful” decision to close its junior boarding facility, saying it can no longer provide a supportive environment. The Catholic school, in Northcote, says it hopes at least some of its Year 9 and 10 students will be able to attend as day pupils until the end Read more
Minister of Education Hekia Parata has made an interim decision to close Turakina Māori Girls College, which is one of only six remaining Maori boarding schools. That prompted Minister of Maori Development Te Ururoa Flavell to criticise the churches for not fulfilling their obligations by upgrading Maori schools and making a bigger financial contribution. But Read more
A former official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who publicly came out as gay has insisted there is no gay lobby at the Vatican. Msgr Krzysztof Charamsa told a private Italian television channel that he has never met such a lobby in the Vatican. “I met homosexual priests, often isolated like Read more
Summaries of family synod interventions by Bishop Charles Drennan and Cardinal John Dew were posted to the Polish bishops’ conference website last week, but were subsequently removed. Summaries of interventions by several dozen synod fathers were posted. This appeared to be in violation of rules at the synod. The Vatican is only releasing short summaries Read more
A US archbishop has given priests in his diocese strict guidelines on which people should not receive Communion. Newark Archbishop John Myers also ordered parishes and Catholic institutions in his diocese not to host people or organisations that disagree with Church teachings. Catholics who publicly reject Church teaching or discipline and those whose marriages are Read more
The offices of Save the Children workers helping asylum-seekers on the Pacific island of Nauru have been raided by police, the aid agency said Tuesday, as debate rages in Australia over new whistleblower laws. It is understood that police seized electronic items such as phones and laptops during the raid on Saturday, with the operation Read more
After more than six years, the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary ( SMSM ) has stopped using four adjacent homes in Gloucester Rd in Manurewa, as its training centre. The religious order has run training programmes in New Zealand for 80 years and in Auckland since 1995. The society’s Auckland administrator Sister Patricia Leamy Read more