Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has hit out at US presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s comments on immigration. In an op-ed piece for the New York Daily News, Cardinal Dolan likened Mr Trump’s views to a “virulent strain” of American “nativism”. “Nativists believed the immigrant to be dangerous, and that America was better off without Read more
An Italian priest has posted a notice on the door of his church telling racists they are banned from the premises. “Racists are not allowed in this church,” read the notice posted by Fr Gianfranco Formenton of Sant’Angelo parish in Mercole, Umbria. The notice adds: “For I was a stranger and you did not take Read more
Let us suppose that along the coast of Normandy up to one million non-EU migrants are waiting to be packed like sardines in small unseaworthy vessels and to cross the English Channel. Let us suppose that first the Royal Navy, then the navies of a dozen other EU countries, start to search for all such Read more
Have we got room to double our annual intake of refugees? Of course we have. Would we be able to resettle them well? Of course we could. We’ve done it before, 35 years ago when the ‘bogey’ of the refugee hordes was just as much paraded as it is being today. John Key was a Read more
Norwegian police have raided the offices of the Diocese of Oslo after it was accused of defrauding the state of millions of dollars. The diocese has been accused of vastly exaggerating its membership to increase the support it receives from the state. This came to an additional 50 million Norwegian Krone, some NZD$8.58 million, over Read more
It should go without saying (but often doesn’t): the fact that 2030 New Zealand will be much more ethnically diverse is by no means a bad thing. But it’s also necessary. As the baby boomers age, our population will become disproportionately elderly, with a dependency ratio of about 2.6 people aged between 15 and 64 Read more
A high-profile Catholic priest has been suspended after an investigation found he was in a sham gay marriage to help a Pakistani immigrant stay in Britain. Fr Donald Minchew – a former Anglican who converted to Catholicism after attacking the Church of England’s loss of traditional values – admitted entering into a civil partnership as Read more
The recent drowning of hundreds of illegal migrants off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa has caused a stir, as spectacles tend to. But, really, this is no more than a freak occurrence. Like mass shootings in America or child abductions by strangers, it is a statistically insignificant event attached to an emotive story. Freak Read more
Mega-rich people are flocking to New Zealand after immigration rules were relaxed for people with at least $10 million to spend. The change in 2009 has led to a surge in seriously rich people gaining New Zealand residency and most don’t need any business experience or English language expertise. More than 100 people have been Read more
The Catholic Church in the United States has taken a more active role in pushing for an immigration overhaul that would legalize the millions of people who are in the country illegally. Church leaders have staged fasting and prayer events, starting last week, to spotlight the plight of the immigrant. Church leaders urged Catholics to Read more