The US Supreme Court’s recent ruling to throw out Roe v Wade is an issue of relevance to political leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand. The decision was met with enthusiasm by those opposed to abortion here, including opposition National MP for Tāmaki Simon O’Connor. Pro-choice groups such as Abortion Rights Aotearoa (ALRANZ) expressed alarm, not Read more
The Catholic Church ‘can and will never be neutral’ in the face of social and moral issues, even though it is otherwise non-partisan. Caritas Philippines national director Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo (pictured) spoke out about the Church’s position on social and moral issues in a published statement on Monday. “We will proclaim what is true, Read more
Religion forms a moral foundation for billions of people throughout the world. In a 2019 survey, 44% of Americans – along with 45% of people across 34 nations – said that belief in God is necessary “to be moral and have good values.” So what happens to a person’s morality and values when they lose Read more
Cardinal George Pell has said that the first task of bishops is not to be theologians but to teach, explain, and defend the Church’s faith and morals. The Australian cardinal delivered his intervention at the synod on the family in Rome last week, and an extended form of it was posted to the Catholic Herald’s website. Read more
In their attempt to argue that effective and binding codes can be developed without a deity, atheists often mistake inferior codes – “common decency” – for absolute moral systems. The Golden Rule, or doing as you would be done by, is such a code. But the fact that men can arrive at the Golden Rule Read more
You’ve probably heard the stereotype: Catholic colleges are in denial about their students’ sexual lives and alcohol use. Indeed, it’s true that many Catholic universities traditionally ended the conversations on sex and underage drinking with a simple, “just say no!” And yet, students attending Catholic colleges do not differ from students at other colleges, with Read more
American sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson is championing a controversial new approach for explaining the origins of virtue and sin. In an interview, the world-famous ant reseacher explains why he believes the inner struggle is the characteristic trait of human nature. Edward O. Wilson doesn’t come across as the kind of man who’s looking to pick Read more
Statistics New Zealand says 15,863 abortions were performed last year, the lowest level since 1999. Family Planning says 4000 implants have been inserted this year alone compared with 200 hundred last year. Auckland Hospital clinical director of gynaecology Dr Mahesh Harilall believes the implants are the main cause of an almost 30% decrease in terminations Read more
Gay rights activists in Suva are angry at Fijian police for canceling a gay pride march. The police reportedly said they were unaware that the march had been organised to advocate gay rights until just before it was scheduled to begin. But Oceania Pride founder Jasmine Kaur has told the Australia Network she properly notified police about Read more
TV3 says 413,400 viewers aged five or older watched the first episode of GC, a reality show about a group of young Maori on the Gold Coast. It was watched by 42 per cent of Maori watching television It out-rated 3News and Campbell Live and became a trending topic world wide on Twitter, but attracted Read more