She might have just turned 100, but Sr Marie Fitzpatrick still helps other residents and staff at Little Sisters of the Poor Sacred Heart Home, in Dunedin. She celebrated her birthday yesterday with more than 70 family and friends. Religious Superior Sr Bridget Donnelly said Sr Marie assisted hospital residents at mealtimes, and sometimes set Read more
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that legislative bodies like city councils can begin their meetings with prayer, even if it favours a given religion. On May 5, the court ruled 5-4 that Christian prayers before town council meetings in Greece, New York, did not violate the US constitution. The constitution prohibits the government Read more
Planning is under way for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the first Catholic parish in Southland. The sesquicentennial will be marked at Labour Weekend, the anniversary of when the first Catholic church was opened in the south, with mass to be said in a little church in Clyde St. From Read more
A Dominican friar killed at the Dachau concentration camp in 1945, after he was arrested for helping Jews, has been beatified. Blessed Giuseppe Girotti, OP, was beatified in Alba, Italy, the day before the canonisations of St John Paul II and St John XXIII. In 1995, Israel’s Yad Vashem holocaust memorial declared him “righteous among Read more
A researcher has been shocked by the racist attitudes of the teachers she interviewed for a study looking at expectations for students’ success. Hana Turner conducted the survey for her thesis Teacher Expectations, Ethnicity and the Achievement Gap, part of a Master of Education degree at the University of Auckland. The responses from the 15 secondary Read more
A man dressed as a priest has tried to get into the hospital room of Formula One racing star Michael Schumacher, who is in a coma after a skiing accident. Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm reportedly said this in German media. She said she had been told the fake priest is a journalist, and she called Read more
Long-serving teacher and lecturer, Pat Buckley, was appointed as the patron of the Martin Hautus Institute of Learning Samoa in a ceremony held last week. In his tribute to Mr. Buckley, Pulotu Selio Solomon, the Chief Executive Officer of Martin Hautus N.Z. said the decision was taken because of his outstanding service to education and Read more
Chinese Christians are facing the worst government crackdown in a decade, a leading activist says. Bob Fu said this after demolition teams started tearing down a newly-built Protestant cathedral in Wenzhou on April 28. The church had one of the largest congregations in China. Government officials claimed the church violated building codes. Mr Wu, a Read more
Hui katoa, kōtahi mano e rima rau ngā tāngata i tae ki te Hui Aranga i tēnei tau, i tū ki te Kāreti o Hato Pātariki ki Heretaunga, mai i te 17-21 o Paenga Whāwhā. Ko ngā karapu i tae mai i tēnei tau, ko Te Rōpū o Te Whitu (nō Hokianga ki Whangārei), ko Read more
Pope Francis has appointed a commission to fix a prolonged conflict between the Archbishop of Lima and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Since 2007, the university in Lima has been battling its chancellor, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriano, who is Lima’s archbishop. At issue is who has the right to appoint the rector, supervision of Read more