Oscar Romero, now back on the path to sainthood, was called to conversion by ordinary Salvadorans. Among the welcome news coming on the heels of Pope Francis’ election was an April announcement that the canonization cause of Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador has been, in the words of Italian Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, who leads Read more
Pope Francis has appointed eight cardinals to assist him in reorganizing the Vatican’s administration. One of them is the archbishop of Sydney, Australia, George Pell. Many think he was chosen simply because he is the only cardinal in Oceania and it appears that the pope wanted one from each continental region. When asked in an Read more
The Catholic Church has had little trouble finding its way onto the front pages of Australian newspapers in recent weeks and months, though it’s usually been — not unlike many other Western countries — to report on something related to the sexual abuse of minors. With two state inquiries and a national Royal Commission all Read more
First of all, I would like to congratulate Pope Francis I on his election, becoming the first South American to head the Vatican. Although the Church has been having some serious trouble over the last decade with numerous scandals and harsh although often warranted criticism, I feel his election is an appropriate step in the Read more
In June 1973 Juan Perón, the 77-year-old former Argentinian president, came home to Buenos Aires from exile in Franco’s Spain after an absence of 18 years. That same year Father Jorge Bergoglio of the Society of Jesus became the head of Argentina’s Jesuits at the age of 36. One day he would become pope. Perón Read more
Pentecost is no match for the World of Wearable Art that puts the Wow factor into Wellington. The festival where art, fashion and theatre collide, the only boundaries being the limits of human imagination . Festivals need to promise good times, strutting their stuff with music, laughter, food, entertainment and, if we allow them to, speaking Read more
Insurer of churches, schools and historic buildings Ansvar paid out $511 million of claims last year, settling more than three-quarters of the earthquake claims lodged with the company. That’s according to the company’s latest financial results, for the year to December 2012, published yesterday. Ansvar was inundated with claims after the Canterbury earthquakes and withdrew Read more
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ve commented once or twice or 429 times about how the Catholic Church around the world, and in Australia and New Zealand in particular, often fails to adequately communicate the message of Jesus Christ to the faithful, not to mention to non-Catholics. It’s hardly a view Read more
It is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church, the community that gives Christians their identity, Pope Francis said in a homily on his personal feast day. Dozens of cardinals living in Rome or visiting the Vatican joined in the April 23 celebration of Mass on the feast of St George — the patron Read more
I was thinking about questions in the census concerning religious belief and began wondering how we identify ourselves. Many brought up in traditional faiths now no longer want to identify with these belief systems. Neither do they want to dismiss these systems as they recognise them as pivotal in shaping their worldview. So they tick Read more