Pope Francis has reportedly voiced a desire to canonise Blessed Teresa of Calcutta during the upcoming Year of Mercy. Fr Caetano Rizzi, who works in the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, said the Pope “wants to beatify and canonise men and women that were a sign of mercy for the world in this Read more
Two Chilean prelates conspired to block a well-known sex abuse survivor from being named to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Leaked emails from 2013 and 2014 between Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago and his predecessor Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz showtheir efforts to block the appointment of Juan Carlos Cruz. The cardinals feared Read more
A concert including the Islamic call to prayer has been turned away from Nelson’s cathedral after its dean said it “was not Christian”. The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace is a contemporary anti-war composition, dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis and is based on the Catholic Mass, and includes texts from other religious Read more
New Zealand/Australian pop group Crowded House and British journalist Pete Paphides have re-released Help Is Coming with all proceeds going to Save The Children to support the global refugee crisis. The track, which had previously only seen the light of day on the rarities compilation Afterglow, was released in 1999 but has been giving new Read more
The Islam Open Day held at Aotea Square in central Auckland yesterday aimed to allow people to discover the world of Islam from different perspectives and featured exhibitions on art, religion, science, history, society and culture as well as food and clothing stalls. The open day marked the end of Islam Awareness Week, presented by Read more
Baptized as Roman Catholics and educated by Jesuits, Fidel and Raul Castro turned against the Church by declaring Cuba an atheist state, chasing out priests and shutting down religious schools after seizing power in a 1959 revolution. In their old age, however, they have brought the Church in from the cold and are gracious and Read more
Germany’s Limburg diocese says the Vatican won’t open church law proceedings or examine possible compensation claims against “the bishop of bling”. The former bishop was removed by Pope Francis amid a scandal over his 31 million-euro ($35-million) new residence. The diocese said earlier this year that it had raised the issue with the Vatican, though Read more
Pope Francis, Friday, likened a person who gossips to “a terrorist who throws a bomb,” telling his followers that sowing divisions is a sickness within the Catholic Church. Speaking during his homily at his Santa Marta residence, Francis criticized people who think gossip is harmless. “Gossiping is like terrorism because the person who gossips is Read more
The head of the Christian lobby group Family First said he never demanded the award-winning book Into the River be banned. Bob McCoskrie told Radio NZ this morning that Family First had wanted censors to reinstate the book’s R14 rating, which had been removed last month, and require that the book carry a warning sticker. Read more
They’re jumping for joy, and hopefully some dollars too, at St Joseph’s School Stratford this month. “We have organised a jump rope day for the whole school,” explains Raine Peterson-Semenoff. Raine and the rest of his classmates in Room 8 at the school, have been working hard planning a fun filled “Jump Rope for Heart”: Read more