In a pioneering move, the Diocese of Osnabrück in Germany has become the first Catholic diocese to release official guidelines on the concept of Eucharistic hospitality. The diocese recently published a comprehensive booklet outlining the conditions under which all Christians within the diocese can participate in a Catholic Eucharist or Protestant communion celebration during ecumenically Read more
Protestant churches have always prided themselves on their preaching and music, especially non-Eucharistic churches that rely on the Bible alone to shape their Sunday services. At the other end of the spectrum are Catholic churches, which have a deep eucharistic tradition and the worst preaching and music in the country. At least, this is the Read more
The Diocese of Parramatta has formed Australia’s first Diocesan Diaconate Council, aimed at enhancing the ministry of deacons and providing support for their families. With the formation of this council, the diocese seeks to tap into the diverse talents and experiences of its deacons and their wives, who play a crucial role in their vocation. Read more
The United States finds itself at odds with several Western nations over transgender care and the treatment of children grappling with gender identity concerns. While American healthcare institutions have long supported medical interventions for transgender minors, including the use of puberty blockers to delay the physical changes of adolescence, the European medical community is displaying Read more
Pope Francis has appointed Fr John Adams from the Diocese of Christchurch as the new Catholic Bishop of Palmerston North. The appointment was announced in Rome at 10pm New Zealand time, Thursday 22 June and it fills a vacancy created by the resignation of Bishop Charles Drennan in 2019. Ordained as a priest in 2003, Read more
Contrary to reports in the UK Daily Mail, the Catholic Church in New Zealand says no evidence suggests the teacher involved in the disciplinary tribunal case belonged to a Catholic school. When approached for comment, David McLoughlin, Communications Adviser for the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, said nothing in the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal decision or Read more
Priests are part of the church community; they ‘give savour’ to the community and are not the ‘main course’. The captivating comment that shed light on the role of priests within the Church was made on Saturday, by Monsignor Gerard Burns, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Wellington, during the installation ceremony of Catholic Read more
Women play a vital role in passing on the faith to the next generation. But when 99% of Catholic churches have a male preacher this Sunday in a world where 50% of the Catholic population are women, it’s time for our daughters and granddaughters — and sons and grandsons — to see us naming out Read more
We are now just a few months away from the October 2023 assembly of the Synod on the “synodal process”. A second assembly is scheduled for October 2024. Both will be held at the Vatican. The working document for this first assembly is to be unveiled to the press on June 20 and the names Read more
A powerful message of hope from Pope Francis during the height of the pandemic, will be transmitted from space thanks to a satellite launched from the Californian Vandenberg Space Base. The pope’s message, delivered from a desolate St Peter’s Square in March 2020, emphasises the need for unity and resilience in facing adversity. Now, excerpts Read more