The seven women bishops of the Provinces of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia and the Anglican Church of Australia met last month to focus on issues of gender justice and women’s leadership in the Anglican Communion. It is the first time the women bishops, who have served in the Anglican Episcopate Read more
Pope Francis will return to Assisi next month for the closing day of a gathering of religious leaders, aimed at promoting dialogue and peace. It will be his second visit to the birthplace of his namesake in two months, after his ‘private pilgrimage’to Assisi’s Porziuncula Chapel on 4 August. The upcoming visit will form part Read more
Pope Francis’s council of nine cardinals has formally presented the Pontiff with their final proposals to set up two major new offices in the Roman Curia. The two new Vatican offices proposed are “Laity, Family and Life” and “Justice, Peace and Migration”. Pope Francis will make the final decision on these proposals. The cardinals are Read more
We have heard a lot about (the new) mercy during the past months, and with respect to the (sometimes strange and surprising) topics discussed at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family. The remarks of some of the participants in the debates gave the impression that the insistence on truth—and on justice based on truth—is indicative Read more
Nick Watt, the pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Whanganui was a character witness at the Denpasar, Indonesia, court in early June during Anthony de Malmanche’s trial. de Malmanche was found guilty on Tuesday and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Watt says he has known de Malmanche for four years and been his minister Read more
Nauru’s former Chief Justice says New Zealand is continuing to support an unjust system and should speak more strongly against what he calls an appalling abuse of power. New Zealand provides 600-thousand US dollars a year to fund Nauru’s justice system. New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, says he’s deeply concerned about recent developments but Read more
Things may not be as rosy as they say in God’s own country. A Canterbury Community Law (CCL) investigation, which looked at access to justice for beneficiaries, says beneficiaries felt they were treated as “non-humans” by Work and Income – not even allowed access to toilets during lengthy waits at offices. “Beneficiaries are uniformly scared stiff Read more
Lindsey Pointer from Colorado, USA, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study restorative reintegration and rituals of re-entry in New Zealand. “I am excited to expand my understanding of the impact of restorative practices through the opportunity to study in New Zealand, where these practices are well-established and integrated into the justice system,” she Read more
In a formal act, Pope Francis has called on the Church to refashion itself as a place, not of judgment or condemnation, but of pardon and merciful love. The Pope did this in an official Bull of Indiction convoking the extraordinary jubilee Year of Mercy, which will run from December 8, 2015, to November 20, Read more
The Vatican is calling for a renewed commitment to ensure the world’s fishers and their families are not isolated and exploited. “Fishing is recognized as one of the most dangerous professions in the world with hundreds of lives lost at sea every year and many more affected by occupational hazards, (and) Fishers can be easily exploited, Read more