An expert in euthanasia law in the Netherlands confirmed to MPs on Tuesday that there has been at least one case of someone being euthanised under Dutch law because they had tinnitus. During the third oral evidence session of the UK Health and Social Care Select Committee’s (HSCSC) inquiry into assisted suicide, MPs heard testimonies Read more
News Shorts
Shift work among the top 10 carcinogens in NZ workplaces
Thursday, June 22nd, 2023On a good day, emergency department nurse Ken* will rise at about 1pm, start work at 3pm and get home at 11pm. On a bad day, he’ll arrive home after 3am and be up with the kids. His nursing career has dictated this pattern for decades – and he knows it’s toxic. “Your sleep patterns Read more
Four German bishops block funding for permanent synodal council
Thursday, June 22nd, 2023Four German bishops voted on Tuesday against funding the synod committee preparing to introduce a permanent German synodal council to oversee the Church in Germany. The four bishops are Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and three bishops from Bavaria: Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg. Read more
Quebec cardinal says new claims of sexual assault are ‘defamatory’
Thursday, June 22nd, 2023Attorneys representing a woman who has accused retired Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet of sexual assault say two other women have come forward with accounts of alleged sexual assault and other misconduct. The cardinal has denied the claims and contended that the allegations of such “reprehensible behavior” only further defame him. He stressed the need for Read more
Vatican newspaper draws attention to surging numbers of displaced persons
Monday, June 19th, 2023With the headline “In fuga per forza“ [In flight through force], L’Osservatore Romano devoted the most prominent front-page coverage in its June 14 edition to a UN report on the rising number of victims of forced displacement. “At the end of 2022, 108.4 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, Read more
Leak near church has been soaking footpath for at least four years
Monday, June 19th, 2023A leak outside a Roman Catholic Church on Boulcott St has been spilling out onto the footpath outside the building since before the pandemic and staff are worried that it’s an accident waiting to happen. The leak on the footpath next to the main steps leading up to St Mary of the Angels church not Read more
Pope Francis expresses ‘shame and dismay’ over sexual abuse of minors in Bolivia
Monday, June 19th, 2023Pope Francis has sent a letter to the president of Bolivia expressing “feelings of shame and dismay” and a firm promise to work with the government of the South American country to end clerical sexual abuse of minors. The letter, released Friday according to the Associated Press but signed on May 31 and addressed to Read more
Researchers call for more screening for depression in first-time fathers
Monday, June 19th, 2023Younger fathers may be at greater risk of experiencing major depression and the “baby blues”, a study has found. A letter has been published in the New Zealand Medical Journal on Friday about paternal depression among fathers in the Christchurch Health and Development Study by researchers Louise Rippin, Geraldine McLeod, Jacki Henderson and Joseph Boden. Read more
Bishops begin process that could ban gender-affirming care in Catholic hospitals
Monday, June 19th, 2023The US Conference of Catholic Bishops voted on Friday (June 16) to amend its directives for US Catholic health care organisations, setting in motion a process that could bar Catholic hospitals and other church-affiliated institutions from providing gender-affirming treatment to transgender people. The vote occurred during the USCCB’s spring meeting in Orlando. It passed via Read more
Pope sends support to LGBTQ ministry conference as online petition tries to cancel event
Thursday, June 15th, 2023
Pope Francis has sent a message of support to a conference that will discuss LGBTQ ministry in the Catholic Church this weekend, after right-wing online influencers organized a petition to try and stop the event. The pope is publicly backing the Outreach conference, a three-day meeting set to be held June 16-18 at New York’s Read more