Christchurch sculptor Paul Deans was searching through limestone pillars from an earthquake-damaged church when he uncovered a turtle fossil believed to be about 35 million years old. The pre-historic fossil was embedded in the limestone core of a pillar from the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church, which was built between 1881 and 1882 in central Christchurch. Read more
The Holy See has placed sanctions on two controversial bishops in Poland following investigations that revealed both prelates badly mishandled cases of priests who sexually abused minors. Archbishop Slawoj Leszek Glódz, who led the Archdiocese of Gdansk from 2008 until his retirement last August at age 75, was charged with “negligence”. Bishop Edward Janiak, who Read more
Tears flowed freely when Sacred Heart Cathedral parish farewelled its music director Michael Fletcher. Fletcher was the Director of Music at the cathedral for the past ten years. The occasion followed his final choral Mass on Sunday 14 March with tributes from choristers and parishioners emphasising Michael’s outstanding contribution to the cathedral, particularly in music Read more
Pope Francis has offered the Queen “heartfelt condolences” for the loss of her husband and praised the Duke of Edinburgh for his devotion to marriage and “distinguished record” of public service. In a telegram sent by the Vatican’s secretary of state and made public on Saturday, Francis said he was “saddened” to learn of Philip’s Read more
Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso, who is president of the umbrella group that includes all the national episcopal conferences of Africa, has used his Easter Sunday homily to condemn the “culture of death”, including homosexual marriage. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a “note” on March 15 that reaffirmed that the Read more
The Catholic Church has defeated the Scottish Government in a legal fight over “unlawful” rules on communal worship during lockdown. Nicola Sturgeon confirmed yesterday that collective worship will be allowed in groups of up to 50 from tomorrow. A group of 27 church leaders launched a judicial review at the Court of Session arguing Government Read more
Survivors of sexual abuse at Pompallier College, Whangarei are urged to come forward if they wish to receive help. Principal of Pompallier College, Whangarei, Richard Stanton told RNZ, Friday, that a former pupil approached him saying he had been raped by a priest at the college in the late 1970’s early 1980’s. The former pupil Read more
Church leaders across seven denominations have issued a statement criticising the UK Government’s integrated review of foreign and defence policies which proposes to increase the UK’s nuclear warheads from 196 to 260. They described this as “a retrograde step that will not make any of us safer” adding: “It is immoral that the UK government Read more
New Zealand has again refused to instigate a Royal Commission on the Family Court, bringing New Zealand and the United Nations’ women’s rights committee to a stalemate. Since 2018, domestic violence advocacy groups have been publicly calling on the Government to take an in-depth look at the culture of the court, arguing it is unsafe Read more
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposed sanctions Friday on David Alton, a leading British Catholic human rights campaigner who highlighted widespread abuses in Xinjiang. The Chinese authorities announced the measures on March 26 against Alton and eight other U.K. citizens, as well as four institutions critical of the country’s human rights record. The individuals are Read more