Police are receiving 12,000 attempted or threatened suicide calls a year, increasing the strain on their resources. The national figure of 11,939 calls last year amounts to an average of nearly 33 a day – and the figures have been rising steadily in the past five years. But police say they have little expertise in Read more
The nun who won The Voice Italy competition earlier this year has recorded her first album. Universal Music has released a promotional video for the album by Ursuline Sr Cristina Scuccia, who shot to worldwide fame with her version of Alicia Keys’ hit “No One”. The Italian bishops’ newspaper Avvenire reported the video features footage Read more
An English Catholic charity has produced a cookbook with recipes to help uninspired Catholics in the kitchen observe meatless Fridays. Cafod, which is the Official Catholic aid agency for England and Wales, is preparing to launch the cookbook titled “Friday Suppers”. Proceeds from the book will help Cafod to support people living in poverty. The Read more
An international flight from New York was disrupted after ultra-orthodox Jewish passengers insisted they couldn’t sit next to women. An El Al flight from JFK Airport to Israel on September 23 saw ultra-orthodox passengers stand in the aisles before take-off, which delayed the flight. Some orthodox passengers (haredim) even offered money to fellow travellers to Read more
Members of New Zealand’s Hurricanes rugby union team will visit Vanuatu to spread a message against domestic violence. Professional Development Manager for the Hurricanes, Steve Symonds says the program will help support local law enforcement and challenge the resilience of the players themselves. Listen to interview
A church service was held at the Transitional Cathedral in Christchurch to mark the start of the summer season in Antarctica. The south to Antarctica church service is being led by the acting Dean Ven Nick Mountford. Weather dependent, staff and scientists will start travelling to Scott Base and McMurdo Station from Monday. Christchurch acts Read more
The Vatican’s Secretary of State has made an impassioned appeal to the international community to tackle global warming. Cardinal Pietro Parolin sent a message to a UN summit on climate change, which was delivered by the Holy See’s Permanent Observer at the United Nations, Archbishop Francis Chullikatt. The archbishop said that the evidence for global Read more
A Jesuit preparing for ordination has left the Catholic Church over the way LGBTQ people are being treated by the Church in the United States. Benjamin Brenkert has written an open letter to Pope Francis calling on him to tell the US bishops to make Catholic institutions not sack any more LGBTQ Catholics. The last Read more
A Vatican astronomer believes there is life elsewhere in the universe, but he says discovering this will neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, who is the new president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, said news of such a discovery won’t come as a big surprise. Br Consolmagno said he Read more