A wall painting of St Peter Chanel is not the only sign that Kiwis have been in Venezuela. Fr Tony O’Connor, a New Zealand Marist priest, will soon be leaving Flor Amarillo, Valencia, Venezuela. His departure will bring to an end 46 years of Marist work in the area. As well as Fr Tony, two Read more
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill called for a revitalized partnership between government and Churches when he addressed the Catholic Bishops of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands at their Annual General Meeting in Alexishafen, Madang last Thursday. He said common concerns between government and Churches include education, health, public security, fight against corruption, Read more
An American bishop has pulled back from implementing a morals pledge for teachers in Catholic schools, requiring them to affirm Church teachings on matters such as abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage. Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa in California had intended to require all teachers and administrators — Catholic and non-Catholic — to “agree that Read more
The newly appointed National Catholic Education Secretary for Papua New Guinea has taken up his position and began by attending the First National Education Board meeting for 2013 as an observer. He replaces Mr. Sylvester Ganisi, from the diocese of Alotau, who for the past seven years has been National Catholic Education Secretary. In the Read more
A parent with a child attending a Catholic school has complained to the Fiji Times that the school is forcing students who ar not catholics to attend Mass. In a letter, the school informed parents that if they did not want their children to Mass they should find another school. One parent said.”I had personally Read more
St Bede’s College, a Catholic boys school in Christchurch New Zealand, has been placed at the top of an unofficial New Zealand “Ivy League” list. The list is drawn up as a result of a survey carried out by a New Zealand Sunday newspaper. The Sunday Star-Times bases its list on the schools attended by Read more
To avoid the threat of closure, six Catholic schools in Indonesia have agreed to teach Islam to their Muslim students. A local ordinance in Blitar city, East Java, requires all Muslim students, wherever they might be educated, to be able to read and write verses from the Koran. A representative of the Islamic Anti-Discrimination Network Read more
The man accused of assaulting Peter Ahern, the principal of St Joseph’s School in Upper Hutt, has been told not to enter school grounds. Daniel Wilson, 39, appeared in Upper Hutt District Court on Wednesday 19 December, where he was remanded on bail until January. Wilson, the uncle of a pupil at the school, is not Read more
In the biggest Catholic education expansion in Melbourne since the 1970s, 13 new schools are planned in the outer northern and western suburbs to cope with population growth. According to Catholic Education’s executive director, Stephen Elder, families are choosing Catholic schools because of their own experiences in the system, because they like the faith and Read more
An Upper Hutt primary school principal suffered a split head and bruised ribs after a “sustained beating” from a relative of one of his pupils. The pupil’s uncle laid into St Joseph’s School principal Peter Ahern during a meeting over his nephew, punching the stunned principal then kicking him while he was on the ground. Read more