Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is understood to have accepted an invitation to visit New Zealand. He is the Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelisation of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, and is responsible for the appointment of New Zealand’s bishops. However the purpose of Tagle’s visit it to speak at the National Clergy Assembly, in October. Read more
The most powerful and effective method of evangelisation is to live according to what one teaches and preaches, Pope Francis said. “I can recite the Creed by heart, I can talk about everything we believe in, but if your life is not consistent with that, it will get you nowhere,” he told people at his Read more
“The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 is good, and we are grateful to the president for assenting to it.” Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, head of the Anglican Church of Uganda, does not mince words to express his approval of the intensified criminalisation of homosexuality in his country. By making “aggravated homosexuality” a capital offence, which means Read more
The Catholic Church is one step closer to canonising a surfing saint. Pope Francis recognised the heroic virtue of Brazil’s “Surfer Angel”, Guido Schäffer, in a decree issued by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on May 20. Schäffer was a seminarian, a doctor, and a surfer who drowned while surfing in 2009 off Read more
The national median weekly rent for newly tenanted properties increased by $15 a week (+2.7%) over the 12 months to the end of March this year. The latest data, based on bonds lodged with Tenancy Services each quarter, shows the national median residential rent increased from $550 a week in the first quarter (Q1) of Read more
The Synod of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has approved switching to the Revised Julian calendar from September 1 this year. It means the Church will celebrate Christmas on Dec 25 instead of Jan 7. Other holidays with a fixed date will also be moved, while the change will not apply to Easter as its Read more
The equivalent of half a day’s palliative care was stolen Thursday from the North Haven Hospice shop in Whangarei. Proceeds from the two rings worth over $4000 was money vital to support terminally ill Northlanders. The theift is a major blow to the charity, as it must raise roughly $8000 daily to keep afloat. The Read more
Global solar investment is projected to outpace oil spending for the first time in 2023, with China leading the way, a report by an energy watchdog said. An estimated US$400 billion will be allocated to solar energy this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday in its annual world energy investment report. “About Read more
Pope Francis resumed regular appointments on Saturday, one day after cancelling his schedule due to a fever. The pontiff held a number of private meetings, including with visitors from Georgetown University who were in town for a conference with a Jesuit-run journal. According to Vatican News, a number of poets, writers and film directors from Read more