There has been a clamor among some priests to abolish mandatory celibacy and make it optional. For them, celibacy is a burden that is very difficult to live with. They contend that if it was made optional, more men will be attracted to the priesthood, especially at a time when there is a shortage of Read more
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference (NZCBC) is following the response of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference to some of the recommendations made by the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in its final report. The seal of Confession In a statement, the NZCBC says Confession is often not understood. “In many cases, the Read more
The New Zealand Catholic bishops will continue to follow their own pastoral practices with respect to the children of priests rather than adopting the Irish bishops’ guidelines. The bishops’ spokesperson, Amanda Gregan, responding to questions from RNZ, said the bishops had “read with interest the Irish Bishops’ guidelines concerning children of priests”. However, “They will Read more
The Bishop of Auckland says he believes an Auckland woman’s claim that she is the daughter of a Catholic priest. Bishop Patrick Dunn says he has seen and accepted further evidence. The woman has not made her name public and uses the pseudonym ‘Kathleen’. Bishop Dunn says he told the woman that he confirmed this Read more
An Auckland woman has spoken out about her belief that her late father was a Catholic priest. Using the pseudonym ‘Kathleen’, the woman says her father had a high profile in the Auckland diocese. “He was a very good priest, a wonderful person, much loved, respected,” she says. ‘Kathleen’ says the journey of his priestly Read more
The head of an Irish support group for the children of Catholic priests says there are several in New Zealand – and the church has acknowledged it. Continue reading
Mr Bill Kilgallon, director of the National Office for Professional Standards in New Zealand, says the Catholic Church as yet has no idea how many people in New Zealand may have a father who is or has been a priest. But he says priests’ children have the right to know who their parents are. He Read more
A priest has been suspended in Fiji after a video showing him engaged in sexual acts, with a church member, went viral. Archbishop Peter Loy Chong yesterday confirmed that a priest had been removed from office. Archbishop Chong said the moment the Church was made aware of the video they “did not sweep the matter Read more
The mainstream media is all atwitter made by Pope Francis’s incoming secretary of state about the possibility of eliminating clerical celibacy. Is this a sign of things to come? Is this yet another indication of Pope Francis “breaking with tradition”? Is this an indication the mind of Pope Francis himself? Is it a major new Read more
An 81-year-old Dutch Catholic priest, who lives with his 85-year-old girlfriend, says he will take his expulsion from priesthood to the European Court of Human Rights. As reported in CathNews, Jan Peijnenburg, who has lived with his girlfriend for 46 years, was told he either had to separate from his girlfriend or leave the Catholic Read more