The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) has appointed Wellington Cardinal John Dew as its president. Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn stepped down from the role at the end of his three-year term and because of health reasons. Hamilton Bishop Stephen Lowe was also appointed vice-president and secretary of the conference. Auckland Auxiliary Bishop Michael Gielen Read more
HMG Basha, a resident of Kadugodi in Bengaluru, decided to give up some of his land for refurbishment of the Anjaneya Swamy temple on the Bengaluru-Hoskote highway. A small temple existed near his plot and the trust of the shrine wanted to renovate and rebuild it. Locals see this as an act of communal harmony Read more
Eucharist, marking the 125th anniversary of the building of Sts Peter and Paul, Kauwhata, Feilding was held on 29 November. It was on that day in 1895 that Archbishop Redwood celebrated the first Mass there. The Church is one of the oldest in New Zealand still in regular use. Run by local Māori, Fr Philip Read more
A construction crane knocked the head and torso off a statue of St. Paul atop Liège Cathedral in Belgium Monday. CathoBel, the official website of the Catholic Church in Francophone Belgium, reported that the accident occurred in the early afternoon on Dec. 7 as the cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Paul, was nearing the Read more
In one of its biggest restructurings in years, the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit announced Wednesday it is grouping its 216 parishes in southeastern Michigan into 51 families — each made up of three to eight parishes sharing priests. The changes have been approved by Archbishop Allen Vigneron, according to a statement released Wednesday morning. A Read more
The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication, has launched a website dedicated to Pope Francis’ latest Encyclical: ‘Fratelli tutti’. The site is currently developed in three languages: English, Spanish and Italian. Further languages will be available soon. It contains numerous resources in other languages, including French, Portuguese, Read more
Bishops in France have welcomed new government measures that will allow more people to attend public Masses during Advent. Gérald Darmanin, French Minister of the Interior, announced Dec. 2 a change to a previously proposed 30-person limit on attendance of public Masses. The change followed France’s highest administrative court overturning the restriction in response to Read more
A former Labour MP is calling for an “inequality emergency” to be declared, after the Government announced a climate emergency last week. Sue Moroney said the Government, with its “strong mandate”, had the ability to start tackling growing inequality in New Zealand. “Naming it [climate change] as an emergency is important,” she said. “I’d like Read more
Italians will not be able to attend midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, with top health officials cracking down on any conditions that could lead to a potential resurgence in coronavirus cases — a step that Catholic clergy has supported. Italy managed to reduce a fall resurgence of cases but is currently suffering record fatalities from Read more