A father-son bonding session planned by a North Island primary school was cancelled after a single mother demanded to be included. Two “Band of Brothers” seminars were arranged by Matakana School to help fathers get more involved in their sons’ lives, and as a forum for dads to share their issues. One session was for Read more
Cardinal George Pell of Sydney has said the group of cardinal advisers chosen by Pope Francis will be like the motorbike corps used by Field Marshall Montgomery to gather information during the Second World War. “The Holy Father — like all popes — needs access to information, not just through official sources,” he said. During Read more
Scotland is a hostile place for Catholics, according to the spokesman for the Catholic Church there, Peter Kearney. “Priests have bricks thrown through their bedroom windows,” he said. “The number of crimes motivated by anti-Catholic intolerance has gone up every year since the 2003 Criminal Justice Act was created. Things are not getting better.” Continue Read more
Catholic bishops’ conferences in the G8 nations have urged G8 leaders “to take steps to improve nutrition, reduce hunger and poverty, and strengthen just tax, trade and transparency policies for the common good of all”. “In a world that has made great strides in improving food production and distribution, far too many of God’s children Read more
The pressure of slashed media budgets, faster news schedules and attempts by Governments to control the flow of information is making it harder for journalists to do their job – truth-seeking and truth telling. And that isn’t good for cross-cultural news coverage, says Professor Mark Pearson. Continue reading
A judge has commended a grieving woman and the man responsible for her partner’s death during an emotional court hearing following a fatal road accident. Donald Stewart Wills, 66, of Morison’s Bush, appeared for sentencing today before Judge Bill Hastings on a charge of careless driving causing the death of Ricki Cobb on the Waiohine Read more
A Ngati Porou church leader living across the Tasman is planning to build a marae for the growing Maori community in Western Australia. Kaua Te Rangi Tuhura, known to most people as Reverend Kuzie, moved with his family from the small East Coast settlement of Hiruharama in 2011 to Bunbury just south of Perth. Since Read more
Pope Francis intends to complete an encyclical on faith that was begun by his predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed that Pope Francis would complete the encyclical on the virtue of faith, but said it would be “premature” to guess when it would be completed. He denied a previous report Read more
Members of the Legion of Christ and its lay movement, Regnum Christi, will enter a period of atonement and prayer in preparation for upcoming meetings that will determine their future. A series of assemblies will redefine the mission and governing structure of the organisations. These events follow a period of turmoil in the Legion after Read more
German women should be encouraged to “stay at home and bring three or four children into the world” to increase the birth rate, according to Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne. He said immigration is not the answer to the demographic crisis in Germany, which has the lowest birth rate in Europe at 1.36 children per Read more