Majestic Church leaders have been left gutted by a commissioner’s decision to decline planning permission for their proposed multimillion-dollar development in central city Christchurch. The church was seeking consent to build a chapel, auditorium, art studios, cafe, apartments and a multi-storey parking building, designed by internationally acclaimed Melbourne architect Koos de Keijzer, on the former Read more
News Shorts
Two per cent of Anglican clergy don’t believe in God
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014Two per cent of Anglican priests don’t believe in God, a poll of clergy in the United Kingdom has revealed. A YouGov survey covered more than 1500 clergy from the Church of England, the Church in Wales and the Scottish Episcopal Church. As many as 16 per cent were “unclear” about God and two per cent Read more
Priest hangs himself after abuse allegation
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014A Catholic priest in Italy has reportedly committed suicide after being accused of child abuse. Fr Maks Suard, 48, reportedly hanged himself after being accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl some 17 years ago. According to the Messaggero Veneto newspaper, the priest had admitted his guilt. He had asked Trieste Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi for Read more
New York archdiocese merges dozens of parishes
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014New York archdiocese has moved to merge more than 50 of its 368 parishes with neighbouring parishes. In a column published online in Catholic New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said 14 per cent of the archdiocese’s 368 parishes would undergo a “purgatory” of sorts and be merged with neighbours. “I wish it could be different. Read more
Anderton says Cathedral repair costs over-estimated
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014
Jim Anderton, the co-chairperson of a group fighting to save Christchurch Cathedral, the Greater Christchurch Buildings Trust (GCBT), believes the Anglican Church has over-estimated the cost of repairing the earthquake damaged cathedral. The Trust has released survey results showing more than half of Christchurch residents support restoration, 51 percent and 66 percent if privately-funded, which Read more
Shock at killing of Solomons Brother
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014There is shock on Guadalcanal following the killing of a member of the Solomon Islands’ Anglican Church’s Melanesia’s Brotherhood. Our correspondent says both locals and expatriates at north west Guadalcanal have expressed horror at the killing of Brother Jackson Lodo. It is reported he was set upon by a group of men early last Thursday Read more
Oceania voices lend weight to urgency of climate action
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014Voices from Oceania recently gathered by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand in an environment report lend weight to the latest United Nations report calling for dramatic cuts in fossil fuel use to avoid catastrophic and irreversible climate change impacts. “People across Oceania are already losing shorelines and experiencing rising temperatures and unusual weather patterns that have Read more
Pope backs closer Christian ties before theologians agree
Friday, October 31st, 2014Pope Francis has said Christians from different denominations should work for closer ties without waiting for theologians to agree on everything. He told Pentecostal bishops visiting him in Rome that Catholics and Evangelicals should “walk together”. Focussing on differences amounts to “sinning against God’s will”, the Pope said. He said Christians should not wait for Read more
Cardinal Pell lays out tasks for Catholics before next synod
Friday, October 31st, 2014Australian Cardinal George Pell has laid out what he sees as the tasks for Catholics leading up to the 2015 synod on the family. They are explaining “the necessity of conversion, the nature of the Mass”, and “the purity of heart the Scriptures require of us to receive Holy Communion”. The cardinal wrote this in Read more
Vatican will not demand ‘capitulation’ of SSPX
Friday, October 31st, 2014The Vatican will not demand the ‘capitulation’ of the traditionalist Society of St Pius X, a spokesman for the former says. The secretary of the Ecclesia Dei commission, Archbishop Guido Pozzo, told a French media outlet that the Vatican continues to work for reconciliation with the society. Formal talks between the SSPX and the Congregation Read more