In her 2004 Pulitzer-Prize winning novel “Gilead,” Marilynne Robinson sketches a portrait of the Rev. John Ames, a small- town pastor in 1950s Iowa who is humble, self-aware, compassionate and devoted to his family and his congregation, and they to him. Americans no longer hold clergy in such high regard, according to a recent poll, Read more
Responding to growing concern about the kinds of priests the Church of England is attracting, Anglican leaders are considering expanding its assessments of clergy candidates to include more rigorous psychological testing. Anxiety about the quality of those who aspire to become clergy is rooted in the series of child sex abuse scandals that have emerged from Anglicanism’s Read more
Chile’s Catholic Church has asked for a drastic solution that could include resignations. The call came a day after Pope Francis acknowledged “grave mistakes” in handling a sexual abuse crisis and summoned Church leaders to Rome. At a meeting of Church leadership on Chile’s central coast, Santiago Silva, the president of the Episcopal Conference, said Read more
Charles Drennan, the bishop of Palmerston North has announced clergy appointments for 2018 Continue reading Related Posts:Palmerston North still waiting for new bishop to…Cardinal Dew unsure why Charles Drennan remains a bishopCardinal prays for new Palmerston North bishop, soonNew general manager for Palmerston North diocese
Asked what it was like to march through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend, evangelical author and FreedomRoad.us founder Lisa Sharon Harper was blunt. “It really felt like every step you take could be your last,” she said, later adding: “With each step, I just kept holding on to the call to love.” Read more
How does a pub make up for mistakenly trying to kick out a group of celebrating seminarians? By naming a beer after them and calling it the “Thirsty Priests.” Tim Lewis is the PR Manager for Brains, the company which owns the City Arms Pub in Cardiff, Wales. He said that re-naming one of the Read more
Seven seminarians walk into a bar to celebrate after an ordination. Naturally they are dressed in their clerical shirts etc. The bartender says “Sorry gents, we don’t do fancy dress or stag dos”. Aghast, the seminarians thought this must surely be a joke, but in fact he was serious. “But we are real” they say, Read more
Two of senior Wellington priests died last Sunday. Father Brian Fletcher died at the Home of Compassion at about 2pm. Monsignor John Broadbent died at Wellington Public Hospital at about 7.30pm. Related Posts:Pope Francis recognizes miracle attributed to…Dramatic spike in children suffering dangerous…No wriggle-room for religious workersMan dies on his knees in a Mexico City Read more
Sexual abuse claims that have not been substantiated make it impossible for alleged perpetrators to litigate the claims against them. A group for clergy sex-abuse victims made false statements “negligently and with reckless disregard for the truth” against a St. Louis priest to try to convict him on abuse charges, a federal judge has ruled. Read more
One of Pope Francis’s top advisers says a new relationship between lay people and clergy is needed in the Church’s institutions and organisations. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a member of the Pope’s council of cardinals, spoke at a conference in Dublin, Ireland. The cardinal later told CNS, “When you see the institutions and the organisation Read more