A Hawke’s Bay Catholic primary school has taken to social media to look for a new principal. St Joseph’s School in the Holy Trinity Parish of Central Hawke’s Bay has found a novel way to stand out in the search for a new principal using Youtube and Facebook The board of trustees had advertised twice Read more
The same brain circuits that are activated by eating chocolate and winning money are activated when teenagers see large numbers of “likes” on their own photos or the photos of peers in a social network, according to a first-of-its-kind UCLA study that scanned teens’ brains while using social media. The 32 teenagers, ages 13-18, were Read more
This is a review of Beyond the Screen: Youth Ministry for the Connected But Alone Generation by Andrew Zirschky (Abingdon 2015). When it comes to teenagers and social media, many of the headlines and much of the prevailing conventional wisdom—including within our churches—is that social media is a danger and a threat. This not only Read more
A young woman claiming to have received stigmata wounds is sparking vigorous debate in Samoa. A woman named in Samoan media as Toaipuapuaga Opapo Soana’i, 23, played the part of Jesus in a Sunday School Easter play. People noticed wounds appearing on her body. She had wounds on her feet and hands, as well as Read more
Destiny Church leader Bishop Brian Tamaki has caused a stir in social media with a tweet referring to both Jesus and money. On March 23, Bishop Tamaki put out the following tweet. “Jesus spoke to a tree/fish/wind/water [a]nd other things … i spoke to a $100 bill early in my life [a]nd said ‘you [a]nd Read more
Pope Francis hit one million Instagram followers in only 12 hours after launching his account on Saturday. The pontiff’s first post is a photo of him kneeling in prayer with the message “pray for me” in nine languages. The pope’s Instagram account, with the handle “Franciscus,” broke a record for getting one million followers — Read more
The rate of teenage pregnancy in England and Wales has halved in 16 years and currently stands at its lowest level since records began 50 years ago. Newly released figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 23 young women under the age of 18 out of every 1,000 became pregnant in 2014, compared Read more
Ireland’s Catholic primate has criticised the way social media is being turned into a harsh and dehumanising environment for some. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh told a conference at Maynooth that it is particularly reprehensible when those responsible purport to be Catholic or Christian. “Sadly more and more journalists, members of the Church and other Read more
A gruesome video online shows the torture of four women accused of witchcraft and “invisibly” taking out a man’s heart and eating it in a village of Papua New Guinea. The footage, reportedly taken in a village of the Enga province, shows four women who have been stripped, tied up, burned and beaten. Several men Read more