Why do so many young people leave the church after confirmation, Pope Francis asked bishops from Portugal. “There is no doubt that Jesus exists; but where are we hiding him?” the pope said. What is required is “a personal and pastoral conversion of pastors and faithful so that everyone can say truthfully and joyfully: ‘The Read more
Back in 2009, conservative theologian John Piper seemed to be criticising people for wasting time on social media when they should have been praying instead. It is ironic that he decided to use social media to say this. Sadly, Piper’s approach is echoed by most Christian commentary on the subject. Almost every Christian book I Read more
An increase in numbers and visitors disrespecting God’s house have resulted in a selfies ban inside Tekapo’s iconic Church of the Good Shepherd. The interdenominational church is one of the most popular scenic icons in the country with an estimated 100,000-plus visitors a year. The Mackenzie Co-operating Parish oversees the church. Parish committee member Graeme Read more
Just because we don’t talk about it, doesn’t mean that abortion isn’t something that affects Christian women. One in three women will have an abortion by the time they are 45 according to national statistics. That means that there are inevitably women in church who will have had an abortion – and it isn’t just Read more
An art installation which has temporarily turned an historic Venice church into a mosque has upset city officials and Catholic authorities. Muslims have been allowed to pray inside the Santa Maria della Misericordia church, which was converted to a mosque by artist Christoph Buchel. The installation is Iceland’s official entry into the Venice Biennale and Read more
Christian churches should target the rich and affluent if they want to grow their flock according to former Catholic, and successful businessman, Ron Barker. Barker is responding to a NZ Herald report based on 2013 Census data and the New Zealand Deprivation Index. “As society gets better off, churches need to change their message to Read more
A conference in Rome has seen searching questions posed about unnecessary restrictions on women in the Catholic Church. The Pontifical “Antonianum” University and four embassies to the Holy See sponsored the conference held on Tuesday. It came after Pope Francis’s invitation to seek a “more widespread and incisive female presence” in the Church. According to Read more
Definition of traditionalist: Noun. A person who believes that all knowledge originates in divine revelation and is perpetuated by tradition. Definition of fundamentalist: Noun. A person who believes in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture in a religion. A person who adheres strictly to the basic principles of any subject or discipline. Christ said “Do Read more
Pope Francis has called for a more “incisive” presence of women in the leadership of the Catholic Church. In a speech to the Pontifical Council of Culture on February 7, the Pope said he was “convinced of the urgency of offering spaces for women in the Church and to welcome them”. Francis did not give Read more
In 2014, Pope Francis continued to exercise a fascination for members of his Catholic flock and for the rest of the world. There was no papal pronouncement in 2014 to match his electric answer last year to a question about gay priests: “Who am I to judge?” But the Jesuit pope from Argentina continued to press for Read more