All Saints’ parish has to pay the total $268,000 costs of a hearing in January that led to it being denied consent to earthquake-strengthen and alter the historic Palmerston North church. The city council has sent the parish the bill for all costs, including the consultants and lawyer who argued against granting the church’s applications. Read more
The possibility of the Irish Catholic Church choosing to use an inclusive Bible text for its lectionary appears increasingly likely. The executive of the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (Amri) has recommended that the Irish episcopal conference use the Revised New Jerusalem Bible (RNJB). The association, representing 150 religious organisations, missionary Read more
Netsafe says more and more people are reporting bad online experiences, but not all of them are covered by current legislation. It has seen a 24 percent increase in harmful digital communication reports, according to data released in the leadup to the organisation’s online safety week. But when they concern hate speech or bullying and Read more
A Roman Catholic parish in Las Cruces, New Mexico, told a state senator he could not receive Holy Communion because he supports a pro-abortion bill. “I was denied communion last night by the Catholic bishop here in Las Cruces and based on my political office,” Senator Joe Cervantes, Las Cruces Democrat, wrote on Twitter. “My Read more
The West Papuan Council of Churches (WPCC) has condemned the Indonesian government’s Special Autonomy (Otsus) law ratified by the Jakarta parliament last week, describing it as racist and warning that Papuans could “become extinct”. The WPCC was speaking in an online forum organised by the International Coalition for Papua (ICP) last Wednesday — the day Read more
The coronavirus has taken a heavy toll among Catholic priests and nuns worldwide, killing hundreds of them in a handful of the hardest-hit countries. The dead include an Italian parish priest who brought the cinema to his small town in the 1950s; a beloved New York pastor who ministered to teens and the homeless; and Read more
As a robot dog, he is going places people can’t in the reinstatement of Christ Church Cathedral. Spot can be seen moving amidst the rubble, the lasers and cameras worth $190,000 strapped to its back storing crucial data, such as dimensions and damage, for the project team. “The contrast of our heritage cathedral and this Read more
Russian authorities have rejected a European Court of Human Rights order to recognise same-sex unions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has reaffirmed that same-sex marriages are “not allowed” under Russia’s constitution. The Strasbourg court had issued a ruling on Tuesday urging Moscow to formally acknowledge homosexual couples. But senior Russian lawmakers have accused the court of Read more
The number of Teaching Council decisions reached a five-year-high in 2020, with physical abuse of young people and inappropriate relationships with students the most common reasons for investigations. It was the final lesson of the day and students in the year 10 class packed away their things. The teacher said everyone would have to wait Read more
The Cuban bishops’ conference called on the island’s government and protesters to “listen to each other” and avoid violence. The country is reeling from demonstrations sparked by food shortages, power outages and worsening economic conditions. The protests which broke out July 11 were the largest in decades. They were quickly repressed by the island’s communist Read more