A Polish Catholic archbishop sanctioned by the Vatican has defended his election as a village mayor. Archbishop Sławoj Leszek Głódź told Radio Zet on June 29 that his role as mayor of Piaski, in northeastern Poland, did not conflict with canon law. Canon 285 of the Code of Canon Law says that “clerics are forbidden Read more
A way of building infill housing that simplifies and cheapens the process is being considered as an aid to the housing crisis in Horowhenua. Its goal was to urgently help people in need of housing, and to increase the number of smaller houses in the district. The Horowhenua District Council ran a workshop on streamlined Read more
Msgr Noel Pedregosa was driving alone on the morning of June 14 when he received a call. It was news that surprised him completely. Archbishop Charles Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, told the priest that Pope Francis appointed him as the new bishop of Malaybalay. “My immediate reaction was, Your Excellency, are you serious?” Read more
The city’s secondary school principals have spoken out after a Christchurch Girls’ High School survey revealed more than 20 students claim they have been raped. Villa Maria College principal Deborah Brosnahan said the report makes for very disturbing reading and “we are certainly concerned for all the young women involved.” “While we haven’t undertaken any Read more
Pope Francis responded well to scheduled colon surgery, the Vatican said in a brief statement late Sunday night, eight hours after announcing the pontiff was admitted to a Roman hospital for the procedure. The operation — to address a stenosis, or potential narrowing, of his large intestine — was performed at Gemelli hospital by Sergio Read more
A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud. The indictments are in connection with the Secretariat of State’s 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. The president of the Vatican’s criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the Read more
The Catholic parish in Washington that President Joe Biden often visits for Sunday Mass said in a statement following the contentious US bishops’ meeting that it has no plans to deny Communion to those participating in its liturgical celebrations. Referencing the bishops’ overwhelming June 18 decision to begin drafting a document originally conceived to address Read more
New research from the Youth19 survey shows the simplistic label of ‘Asian’ is hiding just how different the experiences of secondary school students from diverse Asian backgrounds are, especially when it comes to mental distress. University of Auckland Associate Professor Roshini Peiris-John says the results highlight how misleading it can be to group young people Read more
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon says the proposed hate speech law will be a welcome addition to the human rights toolkit. He says the current law covers race and ethnicity, but is silent on disability, religious beliefs or sexual gender or orientation. About half the complaints to the Human Rights Commission are about racial discrimination, Read more