A Catholic building used as a religious instruction centre was one of 22 buildings burned by Boko Haram militants during an attack on Monday in northwestern Nigeria. The centre had only recently been rebuilt after Boko Haram destroyed it in 2014. Read more
World
€36,000 found stashed in confessional
Thursday, June 14th, 2018A priest has found €36,000 (about NZ$60,500.) in a confessional box at a church in Rome. Initially the priests at the church thought the stash of money might be a bomb so called the Police. Upon investigation, the Police found wads of €50 notes hidden beneath the priest’s chair. Read more
Ireland’s president apologises to Magdalene laundry women
Thursday, June 14th, 2018Ireland’s President Michael Higgins has described the treatment of women and children in state-controlled institutions managed by the Catholic Church as a “deep stain on Ireland’s past.” During an historic ceremony to honor former residents of Magdalene laundries, Higgins apologised to the women, whom he called “survivors of the Magdalene regime. “All of you and Read more
Laws requiring priests to break the seal of confession passed
Monday, June 11th, 2018
Laws requiring Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some cases have been passed by the Australian Capital Territory’s Legislative Assembly in Canberra. The new laws expand the Reportable Conduct Scheme governing allegations of child abuse and misconduct to include religious organisations. The legislation makes it illegal for priests to fail to report Read more
Pope writes to Catholics in Chile about clergy sex abuse
Monday, June 11th, 2018
Pope Francis has written a letter to Catholics in Chile about the church’s response to clergy sex abuse victims. Addressing the eight-page letter to the “People of God” in Chile, Francis thanked survivors for their “courageous perseverance” for speaking out. He said he is ashamed of the Church’s failure to listen to victims, and urged Read more
Ireland’s Presbyterian leader to meet pope
Monday, June 11th, 2018
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has agreed its moderator should meet Pope Francis when he visits Ireland. At the Presbyterian General Assembly which met in Belfast last week, delegates voted to allow moderator Rev. Dr Charles McMullen to meet the pope when he attends World Meeting of Families events in Dublin on August 25th and 26th. Read more
Pan-Amazonian synod to discuss women’s, married men’s ministries
Monday, June 11th, 2018
Next year’s Pan-Amazonian synod will cover issues including the environment, evangelisation and the possibility of opening official ministries to women and married men. The synod will be called “Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology.” At a press conference about the synod’s preparatory document, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri said: “We don’t want Read more
Pope addresses world oil exec’s on energy-pollution challenge
Monday, June 11th, 2018
Pope Francis told world oil executives meeting at a two-day conference at the Vatican that transiting to less-polluting energy sources “is a challenge of epochal proportions”. The two-day conference was a follow-up to Francis’s 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’. The encyclical calls for an energy policy “aimed at averting disastrous climate changes that Read more
Presbyterian Church in Ireland denies membership to gay couples
Monday, June 11th, 2018The Presbyterian Church in Ireland says people in same-sex relationships cannot be a full member of the Church. The new policy extends to these people’s children, who the Presbyterian Church says cannot be baptised. The new policy followed the Irish Presbyterian Church cutting ceremonial ties with the Church of Scotland due to its more liberal Read more
Catholics stop administering several sacraments to prevent Ebola spread
Monday, June 11th, 2018Catholics have stopped administering several sacraments in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help prevent an Ebola virus outbreak from spreading. Baptisms, confirmations, ordinations and anointing of the sick have been suspended until further notice in the country’s northwestern regions hardest hit by the outbreak. So far, at least 25 people have died since the Read more