The first-ever annual report of the Vatican Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors states that New Zealand, Australia, the South Pacific Islands, North America and Europe have all created adequate structures to address abuse. The report notes that Africa, Asia and South America lag behind in creating these structures due to a lack of Read more
Pope Francis, who is known as “the pope of the peripheries,” has suggested the possibility of travelling to somewhere no pope has gone before — the South Pole. In a new interview published on Oct. 17, the pope said that he plans to visit his native Argentina, adding: “Somebody said that if I go to Read more
New Zealand climate experts’ advice is almost identical to the Pope’s. We have to modify our lifestyles. The earth is suffering. Excessive consumption of the earth’s resources has to stop. Or at the very least, change. Modify, says Pope Francis. A major new international report shows 2021 record-breaking greenhouse gas emissions. Despite that, international travel Read more
An estimated 5,000 people, Tuesday, took to Wellington’s streets protesting their freedom, and distrust of the government and media. The vocally loud and unmasked protesters took over the Capital’s streets and pavements as they snaked their way from Wellington’s Civic Square, through Mercer and Willis Streets and down Lambton Quay to Parliament. At one point Read more
The pandemic’s effects on mortality have been uneven as life expectancy dipped in most places last year, shaving 28.1 million years off the cumulative longevity in 31 countries. But residents of a handful of places that successfully kept Covid-19 at bay — including New Zealand and Taiwan — actually lived longer. Read more
Housing in New Zealand is viewed as a “speculative asset” rather than a home and has become a human rights crisis, according to a United Nations report. The report by UN special rapporteur Leilani Farha on adequate housing was tabled at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, following her visit to New Read more
What are the key markers of contemporary religious faith and practice in New Zealand? Unlike Germany, there is no state support for the churches here. Unlike the US, piety is not worn on one’s sleeve. Attend a funeral or a wedding in New Zealand these days and what springs to mind is the incredible variety Read more
Some of New Zealand’s most popular cosmetic products are linked to severe abuse, sexual assault, and endemic health problems among Malaysian and Indonesian palm oil workers, according to a new investigation by the Associated Press. It’s the follow-up to another investigation in September which revealed that many of the same palm oil plantations made use Read more
A Christchurch imam wants France’s president to take a lesson from New Zealand’s response to extremist violence. Imam Gamal Fouda spoke out after two beheadings and the murders of three people at a Catholic church in Nice. The attacks are abhorrent and contradict “the tolerant teachings of Islam and all good human values,” he says. Read more
New Zealand has been named the country that most fits Islamic ideals for the second year in a row, but the area of everyday finance is still difficult for Muslims, says a financial commentator. In the 2019 Islamicity index, released earlier this year, New Zealand is ranked first overall, followed by Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands, Read more