Jerusalem was formally recognised by the United States (US) as the capital of Israel on Wednesday. At the same time, President Trump announced plans to eventually relocate the US Embassy to the holy city. Pope Francis responded to the change in US policy, saying he wants the “status quo” to remain. He says he is Read more
Visitors from around the world are making pilgrimages to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to see Jesus’s recently restored tomb. The last time the tomb was restored was in 1810. It is considered one of the most sacred sites in Christianity. Inside the tomb is a burial bed made of rock, where Read more
Most of what I read online in the New Zealand and Australian papers seems to have an Israeli bias. Well that’s the impression I get here in Palestine, where I work at Bethlehem University. Bethlehem University is home to over 3300 students and 400 employees and over the past two weeks it has been closed for seven Read more
Compassion Sister Christina of Jerusalem will feature on This Town, which screens on TV One on Wednesday. Sister Christina plays the organ and looks after the church and grounds at St Joseph’s Convent. She also helps out in the vege garden of the local school in Ranana, the last rural school left on the Whanganui Read more
During the Gaza war this summer, it became clear that one of the most important aspects of the media-saturated conflict between Jews and Arabs is also the least covered: the press itself. The Western press has become less an observer of this conflict than an actor in it, a role with consequences for the millions Read more
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has contributed an initial $20,000 to support a humanitarian response to the emergency in Gaza. Caritas Jerusalem is providing medical assistance, food and other necessities to the thousands of vulnerable people affected by the escalating conflict. More than 775 people have been killed during Israeli attacks, with more than 100,000 Palestinians Read more
Hundreds of Orthodox Jews have protested against the visit of Pope Francis to a Jerusalem holy site later this month. The Pope is scheduled to celebrate Mass in the Cenacle, believed to be the site of the Last Supper, during his visit to the Holy Land from May 24-26. The site is also held by Read more
The fourth Sunday in Lent, Laetare Sunday, is my favourite Sunday in Lent, and not just because of the pink vestments that insecure clergy sometimes attempt to convince you are “rose.” So many of the rich images, words, and themes that will recur at the Easter Vigil are hinted in the day’s readings and prayers — the Read more
Given that the Vatican “gay lobby” story was back in the air this week, it may be hard for some to fathom that anything else is cooking on the church beat. Yet there is real news out there, including this: A new threat has emerged to the Christian community in the Gaza Strip, estimated at just 3,000 Read more
The number of Christians in the Palestinian Territories where Christ was born has halved since 2000, dropping from 2 per cent of the population to 1 per cent — a “social disaster” in the opinion of a researcher. And in Jerusalem there were 27,000 Christians in 1948, but today there are only 5000, according to Read more