No date has been confirmed for the consecration of the new Catholic archbishop elect Father Peter Loy. The head of the church in Fiji Archbishop Petero Mataca, said in an interview with this newspaper that a date had yet to be confirmed. “We have yet to choose a date and the archbishop elect will have Read more
The countries where Christians are worst off are those where the Arab Spring revolts took place, according to a survey by an American human rights organization. After mapping the religious freedom situation around the world, Open Doors said as many as eight out of 10 states that have adopted repressive measures against Christians are Islamic. Read more
Catholic pastoral workers were killed at a rate of one a month last year — 10 priests, one religious sister and one lay person — and the most dangerous part of the world was South America. The Fides news service has published its annual document listing all the Church workers who lost their lives in Read more
The theologian who checks the Pope’s speeches for doctrinal error has explained his understanding of the male Catholic priesthood in an interview with Catholic News Service. Dominican Father Wojciech Giertych rejected the idea that the all-male priesthood is a relic of obsolete social norms, as if such norms could have been binding on Jesus, saying Read more
The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has launched a sharply-worded attack on campaigns against the Catholic Church in Europe and the United States, comparing them to pogroms against Jews. In an interview with the daily Die Welt, Archbishop Gerhard Müller said attacks intended to discredit the Church are launched on Read more
Some of Destiny Church’s most senior members have defected, upset at Bishop Brian Tamaki’s calls to hand over money for his “City of God” in South Auckland. The Sunday Star-Times has learned that Tamaki’s obsession with building the new facility in Druces Rd, Manukau, has caused a schism in the church, with some of his Read more
School supplies bought from businesses giving kickbacks to schools can be as much as 33 per cent more expensive than the cheapest prices online. Myschool.co.nz, run by Office Max, lets parents buy all required stationery for their children by entering a school name and class. Supplies are paid for online and delivered, and the school Read more
A study by Otago University has found children’s paid work provides many benefits – even when it is poorly paid. College of Education researchers looked at the views of parents with children as young as 11 doing after-school jobs. It found the children were often discriminated against – for instance, being paid $4 per hour Read more
A hearing date has been set to decide whether former Catholic brother and convicted paedophile Bernard McGrath will be extradited to Australia to face trial on 252 sexual abuse charges. He’s indicated he will fight the Commonwealth of Australia’s bid to have him return and stand trial on charges he abused, molested and raped boys Read more
To avoid the threat of closure, six Catholic schools in Indonesia have agreed to teach Islam to their Muslim students. A local ordinance in Blitar city, East Java, requires all Muslim students, wherever they might be educated, to be able to read and write verses from the Koran. A representative of the Islamic Anti-Discrimination Network Read more