Vatican officials have approved what they believe to be a miracle attributed to the intercession of Pope Paul VI, putting the pontiff who served for much of the 1960s and ’70s one step closer to possible sainthood. The Vatican’s Medical Commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints said the healing of an unborn Read more
Tangshan Diocese has announced it will not bury deceased Bishop Paul Liu Jinghe until the government returns a former Church cemetery, prompting officials to take away clergy for questioning on Wednesday. In an escalating standoff between Church and state, the announcement delaying the burial was made at Bishop Liu’s memorial service at Tangshan Cathedral on Read more
Pope Francis has re-confirmed Cardinal Marc Ouellet PSS, 69, as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, an office he has headed since 2010. But the Pope today also significantly altered the congregation’s membership by replacing three leading conservatives – including US Cardinal Raymond Burke, 65. Among the new faces is 68-year-old Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Read more
The Shortland Street “bomber” is a real-life hero. Viewers of the Kiwi TV soap were left shell-shocked last week after a bomb planted by nice-guy- turned-Dr Evil character Josh Gallagher exploded in a lethal blast under the Warners’ beachside bach. But the actor who plays the deadly doctor, Chris Tempest, is a real-life samaritan devoted Read more
Shaun Davison, who trained as a Marist priest at St Mary’s in Hawkes Bay in the mid-1970s has written a book about his time there, with interviews with 21 other men who went through the seminary. The book has resulted in a degree of interest from the general public and has been interviewed twice on Radio Read more
The Auckland City Mission began its annual distribution of food parcels and presents last week. City Missioner Diane Robertson said the lines for Christmas parcels first started forming at 4.30am. On Friday, the line stretched from the mission on Hobson Street to St Matthew’s Church. Ms Robertson said many people rely on the parcels. Auckland Read more
Pope Francis has ruled out the possibility of female cardinals in an exclusive interview with the Italian daily newspaper, La Stampa. Speaking to the Vatican expert, Andrea Tornielli, in response to rumours earlier this year that Pope Francis was going to appoint a female cardinal, the Pope said: “I don’t know where this idea sprang Read more
A Scottish priest who says that his vocation was “destroyed” after he spoke out against sexual abuse is to claim unfair dismissal against the Catholic church at an employment tribunal. Father Patrick Lawson, who was removed from St Sophia’s parish church, in Galston, Ayrshire, in September by the Bishop of Galloway, John Cunningham, has been Read more
The Vatican has made significant progress in financial reforms but still risks being used for money laundering unless it strengthens controls, a European watchdog said on Thursday. The 30-page report by Moneyval, a monitoring committee of the Council of Europe, is expected to add impetus to Pope Francis’s efforts to clean up the Vatican’s finances Read more
An interfaith radio station, playing some of the world’s most beautiful sacred music has just been launched. Sacred Music Radio which plays 24 hours a day, features religious and sacred pieces of music from the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Islamic faiths, as well as music not directly connected with any specific religion. Michael Read more