A group of Russian designers have scrapped a planned light installation modelled on the all-seeing evil eye in JRR Tolkien’s fantasy novels after the Russian Orthodox Church protested. In Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and also in the subsequent Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Eye of Sauron is a giant flaming eye controlled by the “dark Read more
News Shorts
MPs’ new prayer rejected
Friday, December 12th, 2014Parliament’s Speaker David Carter has announced that the traditional prayer he uses to open daily sittings of Parliament will remain as is, with its Christian references. He undertook a very low-key consultation process with MPs and offered an alternative that would remove religious references to “Almight God” and “Jesus Christ our Lord” from the English Read more
Christchurch clergy appointments 2015
Friday, December 12th, 2014Bishop Barry Jones has made his clergy appointments for 2015. These are as follows… Fr Chinnappa Thumma will be Assistant priest at Christ the King, Burnside, Fr Bala Allam will be Assistant priest at St Josephs, Papanui, Fr Benito Velasco will be Assistant priest at St Peter Chanel, Waimakariri, Fr Joaquin Camano will be Assistant Read more
Pope says there are lots of ‘hidden saints’
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014There are many hidden saints: men, women, fathers and mothers of families, sick people, priests who every day put into practice the love of Jesus; and this gives us hope, Pope Francis said Friday morning during Mass at Casa Santa Marta. It is not enough to say that you have faith. The true Christian puts the Read more
Vote looming: Irish bishops warn against same-sex marriage
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014Irish bishops are warning Catholics in Ireland that presenting same sex-partnerships as equivalent to marriage would be akin to saying that the union of man and woman is no longer the foundation of society. In a pastoral statement aimed at presenting the Church’s teaching on marriage ahead of a vote on same-sex marriage due to Read more
Cardinals version of Conclave at odds with author
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014The 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis is news again now that four cardinals have denied a new book’s claim that they campaigned for Pope Francis to be elected — though the book’s author has clarified the Pope himself was not a part of their supposed campaign. The London-based Catholic journalist Austen Ivereigh, in Read more
Meet the new man at St Pat’s Town
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014The Rector of St Patrick’s College Wellington was recently interviewed by local newspaper, the Dominion Post. Neal Swindells came to St Pat’s from St John’s College in Hastings where he had been the principal for 15 years. “I was brought up a Methodist Presbyterian in a strong Christian family. My wife, Anna, was from a Read more
Mallard baulks at MPs’ new prayer
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014Assistant Speaker Trevor Mallard is objecting to the proposed new prayer for Parliament, saying while it removes religious elements from the English version, it deceptively puts them into the Maori version. It also appeared to confer rights of Parliament’s sovereignty on the local iwi, Te Atiawa. Speaker David Carter appears to have consulted only MPs Read more
Destiny’s sweet-smelling fragrance that is acceptable to God
Tuesday, December 9th, 2014
Bishop Brian Tamaki tweeted: “A Sweet-Smelling Fragrance that is Acceptable to God (Phil 4:15-19). My God shall supply all your need”, after church members last weekend showered the stage with high-denomination bills during a church service, boosting church coffers by $100,000. Destiny Church-affiliated charities received nearly $6million in donations in the last year after self-appointed Bishop Read more
Church is more than a NGO
Friday, December 5th, 2014Pope Francis urged Swiss bishops to maintain a lively faith, lest their country’s religious buildings become nothing more than dust-filled museums. The Holy Father also used the opportunity to encourage the bishops to live their episcopal fatherhood; to uphold the ministerial priesthood; to engage in frank ecumenism; and to maintain the Church’s witness to the Gospel. “Your Read more