A Catholic bishop has sparked outrage among equality campaigners by suggesting that the Scottish Government could extend legislation on same-sex marriage to include bigamy and even incest, if it truly believed in equality. Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen questioned why equality would not extend to “nieces who genuinely, truly love their uncles” and why men Read more
The submission from the SDL – the largely indigenous Fijian party, called for Fiji to be declared an officially Christian state, that Fijian be the official language of the country, for only indigenous i-Taukei to be known as Fijian, and for references to sexual orientation to be removed from human rights laws. Despite denials from Read more
The Catholic Church of England and Wales is taking advantage of the Olympic Games to evangelise London locals, the thousands of tourists in the city for the events, and the athletes as well. Speaking to Vatican Radio, James Parker, Catholic executive co-ordinator for the Olympic Games, reported that not only is daily Mass celebrated within Read more
A glass house for the Compassion Centre Soup Kitchen is the latest addition to the Owhiro Bay Community Garden. Guests of the soup kitchen can now raise seedlings for their garden plot, with the help of staff members Sr Christina Williams and Lorraine Irwin. Guests were last year introduced to the garden by its coordinator, Read more
Having a beer with Jesus proved a popular choice as around 80 people turned out to the first Albany Sports Bar church service And interest in the unusual service extended outside of New Zealand. It soon went viral after the North Shore Times featured the story last Tuesday, making news all over the world. Pastors Vic Read more
Carlos Ballve — known as “Litus” to his friends — plays defence on the Spanish field hockey team competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games. But as soon as the Games end, the Spanish Olympian will head to a Belgium seminary to begin the process of becoming a priest. According to the Spanish daily El Pais, Read more
An ethical fund that was set up to invest in line with Catholic beliefs is to close after its managers lost faith in its ability to attract investors. JPMorgan Asset Management had hoped to attract investors who wanted exposure to investments that would not clash with tenets on issues such as birth control and civil Read more
With enrollment dropping nearly 25 per cent between 2000 and 2011, Catholic schools in the United States need to “innovate or die”, according to a recent report by the Lexington Institute, a non-profit public-policy group. To innovate, Catholic schools should imitate their largest competitor — charter schools — by adopting a blended curriculum that harnesses Read more
More than 150 Anglican clergy from Waiouru to Wellington have gathered at the Copthorne this week to talk about how they can better support youth. Bishop of Wellington Justin Duckworth, ordained last month, said that over the three-day conference it had become clear that the clergy needed to focus on parents and families. “As a Read more
Petra Bagust says CBA is good at coming up with new ways of keeping people involved. TVNZ’s Breakfast host Petra Bagust has once again shown her support for Media Prayer Day by being one of the faces fronting the campaign in the lead up to August 5. Media Prayer Day is an initiative of Christian Read more