Back in the mid-1980s, I was working as a director of religious education at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in western Maryland. That part of Maryland, like parts of 12 other U.S. eastern states – from Alabama to New York, and all of West Virginia – is part of the Appalachian Mountain region. In those days, Read more
VATICAN CITY — Six months after becoming the first Latin American pontiff, Pope Francis invited an octogenarian priest from Peru for a private chat at his Vatican residence. Not listed on the pope’s schedule, the September 2013 meeting with the priest, Gustavo Gutiérrez, soon became public — and was just as quickly interpreted as a Read more
Christian churches should target the rich and affluent if they want to grow their flock according to former Catholic, and successful businessman, Ron Barker. Barker is responding to a NZ Herald report based on 2013 Census data and the New Zealand Deprivation Index. “As society gets better off, churches need to change their message to Read more
The Vatican under Pope Francis gave out aid worth 1.5 million euros (US $1.6 million) in 2014, an increase of 25 percent over the previous year. Refugees, prisoners, the homeless, the sick and the elderly benefitted from the aid. Direct Vatican aid helped 8000 people in 2014, along with religious communities which used it for Read more
The last time I protested was during university days. That’s, shall we say quite a while ago! But recently I have felt a stirring within me to bring my faith into the public forum in a visible way. There is a growing brittleness in our world. Russia’s bullying of Ukraine, atrocities in the Middle East, Read more
Pope Francis is demanding dignity, not charity, for the world’s poor and hungry. His comments came on Friday at a UN conference on nutrition hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. The Pontiff condemned speculation in food commodities and greed, saying they undermined the global fight against poverty and hunger. “It is also painful to Read more
Want a white Panama hat owned by the pope? Now is your chance. Pope Francis is raffling off the Homero Ortega brand hat, a new four-wheel-drive Fiat Panda, bicycles, an espresso coffee machine, watches and other objects he has received as gifts to raise money for the poor. A poster recently went up around the Read more
In the past few months, the world has witnessed the worst outbreak of Ebola since the disease was first identified in 1976 — it has already claimed the lives of more than 3,400 people. But while the first cases in the U.S. and Spain have stirred fears over the past week, we don’t need to Read more
Prime Minister John Key has asked his officials for fresh ideas on tackling child poverty. On his first day back at Parliament since being re-elected on Saturday, Key said he had ordered Treasury and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet officials to start presenting new ideas. ‘‘The recognition I think we all have is that Read more
Those who know me may be surprised to learn I’m saddened Hone Harawira is no longer in Parliament. I’m not in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate. I’m not Māori. I have no particular affinity towards Hone Harawira nor necessarily agree with most of what he says. Hone Harawira however was a strong voice for the disadvantaged, Read more