Poor Fijians are becoming poorer because of the traditional demands of village and church, says Father Kevin Barr from the People’s Community Network. He says that the number of people living in squatter settlements is likely to increase. Many now living in the settlements used to work in the sugarcane industry and have moved into Read more
Church buildings are becoming a feature of the property market as church organisations cope with changes on a number of fronts. Many older churches are up for sale as congregations dwindle, populations shift, traditional designs prove unsuitable for the uses congregations want to put them to and ageing buildings require high maintenance and possible earthquake Read more
Beautiful brides walking down the aisle of Old St Paul’s Cathedral will be replaced with ballgown-clad beauty queen hopefuls in the Miss Wellington contest. Seven belles will vie for the title as they model cocktail dresses and evening gowns as well as demonstrating their public speaking abilities in the event this Saturday. For the first Read more
A church broken into by a drug-taking former employee has forgiven her for an ungodly string of offending.
In the Palmerston North District Court this week, Samantha Erana-Waitangi MacDonald, 23, admitted four charges of burglary – stealing $12,190 worth of items.
She later confessed her sins to police, saying she did it to fund her methamphetamine use.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Whitmore said all the victims were known to her through the House of Breakthrough Church, on the corner of Brentwood and Highbury avenues, Palmerston North.
MacDonald had worked at the church, and on November 14, used a key she had in her possession to walk into its premises and take a cash box with $500 in it.
Later that night she returned.
“[MacDonald] smashed a window by the front door to make it appear the building had been broken into,” Mr Whitmore said.
Yesterday, church pastor John Faiz told the Manawatu Standard the decision to forgive MacDonald was easy.
“I don’t have any animosity towards Samantha,” Mr Whitmore said.
“One of our values is forgiving people.”
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US Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, both Catholic, are in disagreement with each other over John F. Kennedy’s famous speech on the separation of church and state. Santorum says the JFK 1960 speech delivered while campaigning to be the first Catholic US president, made him feel sick. Gingrich on the other hand, Read more
On a clear, windy Sunday in March 2010, Father William Breslin told his parishioners at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Boulder, Colorado why the parish school would not re-enroll a child of same-sex parents for the coming school year. “I hate the fact that I had to make a choice between being loving and protecting Read more
US-dominated globalization is not compatible with cultures of the south. Among the 22 new cardinals receiving a biretta on February 18 from Pope Benedict XVI, 10 hold positions in the Roman Curia. Italians comprise seven of the 22, making them the largest group. Only three are from outside Europe or North America. So this consistory Read more
As a Catholic TV station becomes increasingly popular around the world, church officials are trying to tell the public that the media outlet does not represent Catholicism.
In two public statements, the Archdiocese of Detroit has taken the unusual step of publicly criticizing Real Catholic TV, saying “that it does not have the authorization required under church law to identify or promote itself as Catholic.”
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A Church leader once said he didn’t have a vision beyond the next 12 months. His point was that everything changes rapidly, and no one knows the future. So why plan beyond what you do not know for certain? In looking far into the future, he believed leaders wasted too much time on fruitless thinking Read more
A landmark Newtown church deemed to be an earthquake risk will shut its doors due to dwindling worshippers and rising insurance premiums.
The original St James Presbyterian Church was built in 1882 and replaced with the current wooden building on Adelaide Rd in the early 1900s opposite Wellington Hospital.
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