Hartford Archbishop Henry Mansell has rebuked a priest from Suffield for participating in his cousin’s same-sex wedding in New York. Rev. Michael DeVito, of Sacred Heart Church in Suffield, spoke with Mansell after the wedding in August. The meeting happened after a wedding announcement in the New York Times mentioned that DeVito assisted in the Read more
St Teresa’s school in Karori has called off a money raiser involving delivering flyers advertising a new bar and restaurant, during school hours, after complaints from three families. Children in years six, seven and eight were to spend an hour delivering leaflets in return for a $500 donation towards school sports jackets. The bar and Read more
On Thursday a carved figure of Christ, removed from a crucifix and missing for 12 years, was returned the the Futuna Chapel in Karori, Wellington New Zealand. It was carried from a police van back into the chapel while a karakia (prayer) was sung. A prayer was offered by Taranaki kaumatua (elder), Sam Jackson, as Read more
The New Zealand Law Society says new powers for immigration officers to arrest and detain overstayers for deportation are a recipe for disaster and should be put on hold. Immigration New Zealand says three people have been detained since the new powers came into force on Monday. The Law Society says it has grave concerns Read more
Seven reports reviewing child protection practices in a number of Ireland’s Catholic dioceses and religious orders have been published. The audits have found a higher incidence of abuse allegations against members of religious congregations than against priests in the four dioceses that have been audited. Reports on the audits say full compliance with child protection Read more
The building of the largest Roman Catholic church in the Gulf was supposed to be a chance for the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain to showcase its traditions of religious tolerance in a conservative Muslim region where churches largely operate under heavy limitations. Instead, the planned church — intended to be the main center for Read more
The Bishop of Clonfert in Galway has said he thought paedophilia was “a friendship that crossed a boundary line”. John Kirby has made the comments as the Catholic Church publishes 7 reports into child safe-guarding practices. It is the second batch of reviews to be carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children which Read more
An overwhelming majority of churches would not host same-sex weddings even if the law is changed to allow it. Almost all the major Christian denominations have vowed not to officiate for gay marriage, as have most other religious groups. The same-sex marriage bill passed its first reading in Parliament this week and must now pass two Read more
The Vatican publishing house has reached agreement with Apple to make the works of Pope Benedict XVI available in electronic form, accessible to a variety of high-tech devices. The Libreria Editrice Vaticana will work with Apple to produce eBooks and i-Tunes containing the Pope’s catechetical talks from his Wednesday public audiences. A series on “Prayer Read more